Nancy Boyce was his mother's great friend and as Don's parents were unmarried her home provided Doris with a safe haven for the birth. Nancy's surname Boyce also accounts for Don's rather unusual third Christian name. Don's father Gilbert had married Violet Crossman in 1919 and from the Electoral Register Gilbert and Violet appeared to be living together, or at least in the same house, at the time of Don's birth. Later the marriage was dissolved; whether formally, by mutual consent or desertion is not known. Although Don's parents could not marry Gilbert maintained contact with his son in the early years. Apparently they all went on a camping holiday together when Don was young. Doris' sister Winifred tried to persuade them to live together so as to give Don 'a home'. Why this didn't happen is not known and Doris and Don lived with Doris' parents (Don's grandparents), William and Emily Rosam, at 10 Grove Road, Thornton Heath, until Don left home in 1950 to join the Royal Marines. Doris continued to work to support her son so in his early years Don was mainly looked after by his grandparents.

How Doris and Gilbert met is not known but Don's birth certificate shows his father to be a 'merchant motor and electrical' and his mother to be a 'private secretary in an electrical company'. Although the term 'merchant motor and electrical' is not fully understood it implies he sold electrical equipment probably as a commercial traveller and so he may well have met Doris when he called on the firm where Doris worked.

Don's first wife Pat said that Don did not discover that he was illegitimate until he was 17. This seems slightly strange as he must have asked his mother about his father and perhaps wondered why his mother's surname was Rosam and his was Boyle at an earlier age.

The fact that the mother and the father and the mother registered the birth indicates that they were not married at the time.

He qualified as a Commando and was posted to the Royal Marine Barracks at Stonehouse. In May 1957 he went to sea for a year during which time he was employed ashore on covert operation in the Gulf area. On return to England he was posted to Lymstone where he was small arms instructor for the Commando courses. He remained at Lystone where he and his wife Pat had a married quarter for the rest of his service.

Having completed eight years service Don was determined to leave although his wife Pat did not want him to do so. Don's commanding officer wanted him to stay and even asked Pat to try to persuade him not to leave as he had a good cahnce of becoming an officer.

Civil Servant. After leaving the Royal Marines he and his wife Pat went to London and lived with Don's Grandmother and Mother white Don looked for work. He was unemployed for about 6 months before joining the Royal Naval Scientific Service as a Scientific Assistant. His first job was at the Admiralty Research Laboratory at Teddington where he also studied on day release and evening classes for a degree.

In 1965 he transferred to the Home Office as an Expermental Officer and remained with the Home Office until he retired in 1993 working firstly on Civil Defence and then in the Police Research Department in London where his knowledge of small arms gained in the Royal marines came in useful. In this posting he had links with the SAS and Police Forces throughout the country. Although he did not obtain a degree he worked his way up through the Civil Service and it is thought that he may have reached the grade of Senior or Principal Scientific Officer.

The house belonged to Don's Grandmother, Emily Rosam. His mother, Doris Rosam, also lived there. Don and Pat were still living there when their first son, Andrew, was born in 1961.

After Don and Pat moved to London in 1958 they applied to be put on the waiting list for a Council house or flat. Council properties were allocated on a points system and Don was given bonus points for having been in the armed forces. Eventually they were allocated a flat in a newly built tower block at New Addington. Pat was delighted to have 'a home of own' but Don didn't really care. As long as he had a place to live and a meal on the table when he came home it didn't matter to him where he lived.

At first it was fine. The flat had good views and Pat could see tree from the window of the living room but slowly the disadvantages of council flat living began to emerge. Washing was stolen from the drying area on the roof; the flat was on the fourth floor so the children couldn't play outside neither could she leave the a child outside in its pram to get some fresh air; sometimes the lift didn't work and she had to carry shopping up the stairs.

In March 1968 Don's Aunt Win and her husband Ed offered Don and Pat the change to buy their house as they were moving to Whyteleafe in Surrey. After a great deal of persuasion by his Aunt and Pat, Don agreed.

Address: Cyprus

At 7 o'clock in the morning of 5 June 2008 Neil phoned from Cyprus to say that his father (Donald Boyle) had died at 3 o'clock that morning.

In the autumn of 2007 Don complained of feeling constantly tired and was taken into hospital (in Cyprus) for observation. After numerous tests it was decided that he was suffering from a low grade lymphoma which as far as could be determined from consulting Merk is a form of Hodgkin's disease. He was discharged but in February or March was readmitted for further tests and treatment. He never left hospital and gradually got weaker.

Shortly before he died Don wrote some something about the cause of his final illness which he believed may have been related to a chemical or chemicals to which he had been exposed in 1974. He visited Porton Down when he was working in the Home Office Police Research Department and it is possible that he was exposed to a chemical or chemicals during one or more of his visits. However, the link is tenuous because the police would have been interested in gases for control and not the debilitating gases for military use. The hospital issued a Death Certificate but it is in Greek and a copy is not available. Unless it is translated it is not known what the hospital considered to be the cause of his death and whether there is any possible link to chemical exposure.

His grave is in a beautiful spot under a shady tree. Don wanted to be cremated, but there is no cremation on the island because of opposition from the Orthodox Church.