245967 Maj. George Foster Hercules Tailyour British Army Royal Field Artillery from:Cheltenham Major George Tailyour was Brigade Major with 5th Division, Royal Field Artillery at the Battle of Le Cateau, referred to by the men as Cheese in the Le Cateau mousetrap, on 26th of August 1914. By 13.45 hrs the battle was going against the British and the decision was made by the Corps commander to withdraw. At the Reumont Wagon Lines Major Tailyour placed 52 Field Battery teams on standby to assist with the withdrawal and then led the 80 Field Battery teams forward to recover guns and howitzers. He verbally circulated the order to retire. He is believed to have ridden his horse past the Batteries calling out 'The order is to retire'. Then went further forward on foot among the Suffolks before ending up thoroughly exhausted and collapsing at the XV Field Brigade Group CP/OP. Together with 2,500 others he was captured and taken Prisoner of War. He was sent to the PoW camp at Clausthal in Bavaria until the 5th January 1918 when he was on parole in Holland until the 23rd October 1918. He died in command of the Royal Artillery Brigade in Colchester in 1921 due to problems caused by time as a Prisoner of War.
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