[2] Born in Aston, Birmingham, England, in 1877, Floyd's family moved to Cambridge in 1890 where he attended the Leys School and became a pupil of the organist of King's College, Cambridge.

He completed a bachelor of music degree at Oxford in 1912, doctor of music at Cambridge in 1918,[3] and took the position of organist and choirmaster of St Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne, Australia,[1] where he was employed between 1915 and 1947.

[1][5] He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1948, and awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters and the ABC's Silver Medallion in 1971.

[1][5][6] In July 1972, aged 95, Floyd announced he would be retiring from his radio programme after 28 years on air.

He stayed on as a musical consultant for the ABC, and planned to broadcast again.