Vivian Loyd
| Captain Vivian Graham Loyd MC | |
|---|---|
| Born | 13 May 1894 Windsor |
| Died | 1972 Windsor |
| Residence | Windsor |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Wellington College, Berkshire |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Spouse(s) | Enid Beatrice Loyd, Phyllis M. Loyd |
| Parent(s) | Captain William Graham Loyd, Emily Diana Mary Loyd |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Vehicle design |
| Employer(s) | Loyd-Lord, Carden-Loyd Tractors Ltd, Vickers-Armstrong |
| Significant design | Carden Loyd tankette, Loyd Carrier |
| Awards | Military Cross |
Captain Vivian Graham Loyd MC, (13 May 1894 – 1972) was an English soldier and engineer who designed armoured vehicles including the Carden Loyd tankette and Loyd Carrier.
Vivian Graham Loyd was born in Windsor, Berkshire, to a family of Welsh origin. His parents were Captain William Graham Loyd and Emily Diana Mary Loyd. He was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire, after which he worked in a bank in Canada.
Loyd was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 4th Home Counties (Cinque Ports) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery on 1 May 1913. He served in India from 1914 - 1916 and Mesopotamia from 1916, where he contracted tuberculosis, which was the reason for his subsequent health problems. He ended the war as a Captain.
After the First World War, Loyd became an engineer, initially making cars then moving on to light armoured vehicles.
Loyd founded a small car manufacturing company with A. O. Lord in December 1922, where they built passenger cars of Loyd’s design, under the brand name Loyd-Lord (possibly a tongue in cheek reference to the Rolls-Royce marque). Falling into debt, the company was liquidated in 1924.
In 1922 or 1923 Loyd met self-taught engineer Sir John Carden, with whom he founded the small Carden-Loyd Tractor Company in Chertsey near London. Together they started working on the design of tracked vehicles, primarily with military applications. Carden was chief engineer on the team while Loyd was mainly responsible for organizational issues and marketing.
Carden and Loyd rapidly took the lead in development and managed to get the British Army interested in their vehicle for reconnaissance purposes as well as for a weapons carrier. By doing so they blurred the original concept, for the Army called Carden-Loyd’s carriers “Tankettes” and thus gave the impression that the Tank Corps and not the Infantry had a vested interest in them.
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