Oil Pastel, Chalk Pastel, Graphite and Acrylic on 200 lb. Rag Paper

41” x 65”

( 106cm x 167cm)

2010

In Private Collection


The son of a Toronto Police officer, Boyd never spent a full year at any one school. His mother and two brothers had died of scarlet fever when he was 15 and that was the year he had his first brush with the law. He spent WWII in the Royal Canadian Regiment First Division Canadian Army, the special forces of the time. He married a French girl he met in the war in Normandy. He had a son in France with her and during an air raid drill at the hospital, a nurse accidentally dropped his newborn son who tragically died. Discharged and unable to find employment back in Toronto, with a wife who was now pregnant again, this time with twins, he robbed a North York Bank of Montreal, then 6 more banks in the city within 3 months.


He formed a gang dubbed “The Boyd Gang” by The Toronto Star. Infamous around the country, he would often dress in women's clothing and a wig to escape suspicion as he made his getaway. However, they eventually were caught only after over a dozen successful and large bank robberies. They were all sent to the Don Jail but soon escaped, curiously with the use of a hack saw blade that one of his gang had kept in his fake leg.


Another bank robbery spree began, including the largest in Canadian history still to this day. They were eventually caught up with.  Boyd was found asleep by police in bed beside a bag full of money and 5 loaded pistols. Amazingly the gang was again in the Don Jail beside each other. Making friends with the guard, the silver tongued Boyd jokingly one day snatched the key from the guard, pressing the key firm in his palm before giving the keys back, leaving an impression in his skin which he used as a template to fashion another key. Then at night, over a 2 week period, he would open his cell door with his key and use a hack saw from his gang members leg (the police still hadn’t caught onto this) and cut through the outside window bars bit by bit preparing for his final escape. To fit through the small hole he was able to cut, the gang needed to starve themselves for a month. The night before they were to stand trial they all escaped the Don Jail for a second time.


The biggest man hunt in Canadian history ensued. The newspapers had a field day, Boyd’s gang made headlines across the country, North America and the world.  He was eventually recaptured, based on leads from sightings from the public who recognized his well publicized face, and was found by police again asleep beside a pile of money, ending the greatest criminal manhunt in the Dominion’s history.


He received 8 life sentences for his numerous crimes, but in Canadian law at the time, the 8 life sentences somehow only equaled 14 years in jail. He did his stretch and eventually was released, moved to BC and became a bus driver for the disabled under a new identity. After his death, audio tapes were found amongst his possessions, recorded by Boyd possibly in preparation for a biography of some sort and gave an oral account of crimes that were far greater and worse than had previously been known.


1914-2002