Born at Bendigo, Victoria on 1 January 1867, the younger son of James Boyd, MD St Andrews 1852, who was attached to the Bendigo Gold District Hospital. He was educated at Bendigo and at the University of Melbourne, served as resident medical officer at the Melbourne Hospital from April 1891 to May 1892 and then came to England to obtain the Membership and Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons. Returning to Melbourne in 1895, he entered into partnership with his brother, William Robert Boyd, MRCS 1889, afterwards consulting physician to the Melbourne Hospital. The two brothers practised in Hoddle Street, Richmond, Thomas doing the surgery and William devoting himself more especially to medicine. The partnership was a most happy one and continued until the death of Thomas. On 19 August 1902, Thomas Boyd was appointed surgeon to out-patients at the Melbourne Hospital in succession to Colonel Charles Ryan; on 7 October 1913 he became surgeon to in-patients in place of George Rennie, a post he retained until 7 June 1927, and on 29 July 1930 he was made consulting surgeon to the hospital. He married in 1905 Annie, daughter of Edward Hayes of Winchelsea, who survived him, and he died at Toorak, Victoria on 11 October 1935. The two brothers Boyd were general practitioners in Melbourne at a time when there was as yet no clearly defined line between medicine and surgery as separate branches of their art. It was perhaps partly due to their personality and example that the cleavage occurred in Melbourne.