Captain Boyd Army Staff, 1842

Coloured lithograph after Lieutenant Vincent Eyre, Bengal Artillery, 1842 (c).

Francis Turnley Boyd (1796-1867) was appointed an ensign with the 15th Bengal Native Infantry in 1814, going on to serve as adjutant of the 2nd battalion. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1815 and in 1823 transferred to the 33rd Bengal Native Infantry. Promoted to captain in 1829, Boyd was head of the Commissariat Department in Kabul when he was taken hostage by Akbar Khan. He was held in Bandiabad Fort before being released in September 1842. Boyd retired from the service in 1844.

From 'Portraits of the Kabul Prisoners', a set of pre-publication coloured lithographs later published by John Murray in 1843.

The artist's original drawings were made during his captivity in Afghanistan after the Retreat from Kabul during the 1st Afghan War (1838-1842).