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Dvr. Albert Edward Kenneth Taylor . British Army 235th Field Park Company Royal Engineers My grandfather Ken Taylor was in the 235th Field Park Company, Royal Engineers which, I believe, became part of the 50th Division. He was a prisoner of war from 29th May 1942 until 19th May 1945 and was captured by the Italians at Knightbridge, Africa. He was taken to PG 78 camp in Sulmona and while he was there, like most other POWs he kept a diary. In his diary he mentions a man named Harry Kingley from Brighton who he shared rations with to make them go further as they were often dropped to quarter issues and so they had to make do.
He writes that while at the camp two lads were shot trying to escape and one died a few weeks later. Further on in his diary he writes "Sept very exciting month Italy coming out of the war. Sulmona bombed by British planes had a very nice view from the camp we allowed to go out. Then Jerry came and we made for the mountains was 4 days living on sheep got recaptured on Sept 17th after great hardships then got pushed of to Germany nearly on the borders of Poland."
My grandfather ended up Pilsen where they kept him for three long years and was finally returned to military control according to the register form for recovered allied prisoners of war on the 19th of May 1945. He served almost another year on his return.
My grandmother told us that he went away with jet black hair and came back with ghostly white hair, who knows what he endured but I am immensely proud of him.
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Sgt. Alexander Jesse Chisholm Taylor . British Army 2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders from London Sgt Alexander Taylor & his wife Marjorie (Peggy) & son Douglas were posted to Singapore with the 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders in or around 1936. A further son followed in Sep 1937 and a daughter in Oct 1939. The family were evacuated to Bombay in Feb 1942 and he became a prisoner of war of the Japanese during the fall of Singapore in Feb 1942.
He survived & rejoined his family in Bombay following the surrender of Japan in 1945, where he was transferred to the RAOC. He returned to the UK with his children on the SS Chittral in Aug 1947. He settled in Epsom but remained in the army for a further few years serving in Egypt & Germany. He died in 1981.
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Pte. Alexander James "Woofie" Taylor . Australian Army 2/4 Btn. from Leeton N.S.W. Australia
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Gunner Alfred Taylor . Royal Navy HMS Woolwich Alfred Taylor served on HMS Woolwich from 1939 to 1945.
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Anna Mary "Bobbie" Taylor . Women's Timber Corps My dear old Mum, Anna Mary Taylor, will be 92 years old in January 2012. She is still very fit & active. She served in the Timber Corps during WW2 in the south east of England where she met my dad, Frederick Sutton (sadly no longer with us.) I would love to know if any of her pals are still out there!
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Tpr Anthony Edward Arthur Taylor . British Army
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Sgt. Arthur Dix Taylor . Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 104 Sqd. from Billingham, Co Durham (d.25th Aug 1943) Arthur Taylor was born on 28th July 1921 and subsequently joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve. In 1943 he was serving with 104 Sqdn Bomber Command and based in the Middle East. At 18.44hrs on the evening of 24th August 1943 his Wellington aircraft took off from its base on a bombing raid, I believe to Torre Anunziata, Italy. Arthur was the rear gunner / wireless operator. After taking off nothing more was heard of the aircraft or its crew.
I have unconfirmed information that the aircraft may have come down after suffering engine trouble during the flight. {This information is from my mother who is the sister of Arthur Taylor.} To this day the location of where the aircraft came down is still unknown and the bodies of the crew have never been recovered, although it is thought to be somewhere at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. My mother gave me the names of two other crew members of the flight who were Sgt John William Snowden of Hartlepool Co. Durham and Jonny Pape of Cockermouth, Cumbria. Arthur Dix Taylor is remembered on Column 272 of the Alamein Memorial. I have only recently started this research but have, so far, not been been able to find out anything further about this bombing raid. I am the nephew of Arthur Dix Taylor but I was not born until nine years after he died.
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Arthur Taylor . British Army Royal Fusiliers My uncle, Arthur Taylor, was in the Royal Fusiliers, 56 London Division. He started out in Burma, then North Africa and then Italy. He was injured at Monte Casino.
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Arthur Leonard Taylor . British Army Welsh Guards I am trying to find information on my grandfather, Arthur Leonard Taylor, and he was in the Welsh Guards. The only other information I have is that he was captured in Crete before being sent to a POW camp in Germany. Can anyone help?
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Pte. Arthur Gordon Taylor . British Army Dorsetshire Regiment
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F/Sgt. Arthur Herbert Taylor DFC. Royal Air Force 153 Squadron from Urmston, Manchester Westkapelle, The Netherlands, A bombing raid now fifty-six years ago, remains a subject of keen interest to the residents of the strategically located island of Walcheren.
On October 3, 1944, the earth in and around the Zeeland coastal village of Westkapelle shook when Allied bombs aimed at nearby North Sea dikes detonated. The purpose of Operation Infatuate was to breach the Walcheren's dikes as a prelude to battle with the Germans who on the island controlled the approach to the port of Antwerp. The bombing which took the lives of 159 inhabitants of Westkapelle, later was repeated at Vlissingen and Rammekens.
A local amateur historian recently has reconstructed the events of that fateful day in an English-language book called, "We Never Blamed the Crews The Flooding of Walcheren Island October 1944". Author Paul M. Crucq was able to tap into all kinds of military information about the operation and extensively used flight logs, diaries and personal memories of people involved in Operation Infatuate, particularly the pilots and their crews.
Five Mosquito war planes opened the raid to drop markers for the ensuing bombing. The raid by 29 squadrons involved 240 Lancasters, each carrying eight bombs, one 4,000 pounder, six 1,000 pounders and one 500 pounder. A 400 metre error by one of the marker planes led to disaster which was compounded by worsening weather and loss of visibility due to smoke from the explosions. Part of the southern section of the village was bombed as well causing, directly or indirectly, the death of 159 people.
Widening the gap
The fourth bombing run finally breached the dike. The next waves of bombers then tried to widen the gap, dropping their loads more precisely by flying at a much lower altitude. The raids met with little resistance from German pillboxes which only were equipped with surface-to-surface and light machine guns. The book, of which the title fully voices the sentiments of most if not all inhabitants of Westkapelle at that time, has been well received, especially by RAF veterans, many of whom had largely been unaware of the tragedy among the civilians.
Crucq since has received many letters from crew members recounting the events. Following the raids, the island was inundated causing extreme hardship to civilians whose conditions worsened - many who had not evacuated lived on lofts - when invading Allied forces - Canadians and British - slowly pushed tenaciously fighting Germans back off the island. With Walcheren secured, the Allies were able to substantially cut their long supply lines in anticipation of the liberation of the rest of occupied Netherlands, and a final dash into the heart of Germany.
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AB. Arthur Taylor . Royal Navy HMS Trelawn from Newcastle upon Tyne My father, Arthur Taylor, served on the Pembroke from 12/09/39 until 18th. 14/05/41 to 20/06/41. 25/06/41 to 14/12/41. 20/08/43 to 2/10/43. 30/10/43 to 31/10/43. 12/12/44 to 27/03/45. 25/11/45 to 31/01/46. In between these dates he served on Salopian, Osprey, Trelawney, Drake IV and Begum.
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AB. Arthur Taylor . Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve HMS Ashanti from Newcastle upon Tyne Arthur Taylor served in HMS Pembroke, HMS Ashanti and HMS Drake IV.
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B Taylor . British Army North Staffordshire Regiment B Taylor served with the North Staffordshire Regiment British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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Bernard John Taylor . Royal Navy HMS Manchester from Warminster
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Tpr. Buchan Bruce Dundas "Buck" Taylor . British Army No.3 Trp., B Sqdn. 2nd Lothians and Border Horse from Edinburgh On 18th of April 1939, Buchan Taylor (my father) joined the Territorial Army in Edinburgh as B. Taylor and was accepted into the 19th Armoured Car Company, Royal Tank Regiment (T.A.), Lothian and Border Horse. He was 19 years old. Weight: 182 lbs.and Height: 5ft 11in.
Because Buchan spoke fluent German, he served in the Squadron Leaders tank of 3 Troop B Squadron, 2nd Lothians and Border Horse in 26th Armoured Brigade, 6th Armoured Division, V Corps, British First Army during Operation Torch (initially called Operation Gymnast). In March, when the 2nd Lothians and Border Horse upgraded to Sherman tanks, the 6th Division then came under IX Corp. Once Bizerte was taken Operation Torch would come to an end, but Bizerte was not taken until May 1943.
Buchan said he had two tank commanders in North Africa in B Squadron. In the Crusader tanks it was Major G.E. Simpson, and later in the Sherman tanks it was Major Anstruther-Gray (aka Baron Kilmany, MP). It was Anstruther-Gray that wrote to his mother during the war to inform her that Buchan had been seriously wounded, and also who corresponded with mum (Veronica, nee Henry) after dad had died so that she was able to get the War Widows pension. Buchan was wounded when the tank was hit overlooking Goubellat Plain. He and Trooper John Hunter were seriously hurt. Buchan dragged Jack out of the turret but he died of wounds the following day. See the British IWM catalogue photo# NA 2357 taken by the No. 2 Army Film & Photographic Unit.
The following are the battle honours of the 2nd Lothians, as part of the 6th Armoured Division in North Africa, that dad participated in:
- 18 January - 25 January 1943: Bou Arada
- 7 April - 11 April 1943: Fondouk
- 22 April - 26 April 1943: El Kourzia
- 5 May - 12 May 1943: Battle of Tunis
Although it is not in the battle honours, he also fought in the battles for Kasserine Pass and Thala.
G.W. Martin, who wrote Driver Advance, was in his tank troop, there were 3 tanks per troop in 1942/43. Buchan's Sherman was destroyed by a volley of 4 rounds from German 88s and a group of Panzers that included MkIVs and a Tiger tank. It was within 100 meters of British N.W. Grid Reference 7317 [more accurately 730175], French Grid Reference 230125 (36° 29.310'N 9° 44.655'E.). At around 4:30 pm, 23rd og April 1943, his Sherman tank may have initially been hit by an armour piercing shell (Peenemunder Pfeilgeschosse) that struck the tank, stopped it in its tracks and actually sent it backwards enough for it to be almost out of sight behind the hill that it was going over. Both tracks had been blown off in the initial strike, and the driver's arm was blown off. Then it may have been struck by a high explosive (HE) round that they called molten lead, as it sprayed white hot metal fragments around the interior along with numerous flying splinters from the tank hull and equipment inside. One piece of white hot shrapnel almost severed 99% of Buchan’s right leg below the knee and splinters struck him in the centre of his right hand, between the ribs of his lower left chest, his groin and other places in his body. His right leg was hanging by a few shreds of tissue, which was cut away by a pair of scissors by the medics from Section 4 of the 165th Light Field Ambulance as he lay on the ground beside the tank. According to his medical record only three and a half inches of his right tibia stump remained.
The following is a chronology of the remainder of Buchan’s wartime service:
- 23rd April 1943 Battle Casualty recorded by, Unit Medical Officer. Regimental Aid Post - leg off (actually on battlefield) transferred to S.E.C.4, 165 Light Field Ambulance
then No.19 Casualty Clearing Station in state of shock. 24 yrs old.
- 24 April 1943 at 0630 hrs operated on including right leg, right hand, left loin.
- 27 April 1943 transferred to No.8 Casualty Clearing Station (2 days)
- 28 April 1943 Transferred to No. 71 General Hospital and operation on 29 April at 1400 hrs (4 days)
- 2 May 1943 Evacuated by stretcher to No. 36 General Hospital (5 days)
- 4 May 1943 Transferred to No. 31 General Hospital
- 7 May 1943 Evacuated by stretcher to No. 36 General Hospital (8 days)
- 14 May 1943 Travelled by hospital ship HMHS Amarapoora (9 days)
- 24 May 1943 Discharged from hospital ship for disembarkation to Shore Hospital as a cot case and admitted at Morriston Emergency Hospital, Swansea, Wales, SA6 6NL (15 days)
- 1943 Gogarburn, Scotland (34 days)
- 12 July 1943 Bangour Emergency Medical Services Hospital, Broxburn, West Lothian (101 days)
- 21 Oct 1943 Arrived midday at Gogarburn Hospital, Edinburgh (16 days)
- 9 Nov 1943 Castle Craig Auxiliary Hospital (14 days)
- 24 Nov 1943 Arrived midday at Gogarburn Hospital, Edinburgh (7 days)
- 30 Nov 1943 Castle Craig Auxiliary Hospital (21 days)
- 21 Jan 1944 Arrived midday at Gogarburn Hospital, Edinburgh (5 days)
- 26 Jan 1944 Limb-fitting treatment and discharged home
- 17 Mar 1944 First artificial limb fitted
- 22 Mar 1944 Discharged
- 2 Aug 1944 Admitted 3 pm to Edenhall (Ministry of Pensions) Hospital, Musselburgh (large shrapnel found deep in ends between 9th-10th left ribs). Operation on 14 August
- 31 Aug 1944 Discharged
In October 1944, Buchan enrolled as a veterinary student, his details are recorded as, Weight: 170 lbs., Height: 5ft 9 1/2in., Age: 27 yrs old.
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Charles Richard Taylor . British Army Special Operations Executive My father was posted to a unit in 1942 at Beaulieu. On his records are just the units intials STS. I'm trying to find out what this means and what this unit did, and his part in it. On his records there is just a box with a big C for the years 42 to 45. I was hoping someone might have a clue what this unit was.
Editor's Note: The highly secretive Special Operations Executive was based at Beaulieu STS. The country estate was used for training spies before they were deployed behind enemy lines. Their work was top secret hence the C (classified) on your father's records.
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Charles Hunter Taylor . British Army from Dundee Charles Taylor served with the 51st Highlanders Division and was held at Stalag XXB
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Sgt. Charles Gillan Nicholson "Jock" Taylor . British Army 2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders from Aberdeen My father, Charles Taylor, joined the Army in 1936 as a boy soldier with the 1st Bn North Staffordshire Regiment and served in India and Palestine until 1939.
On the out break of the War he joined part of the newly formed 59th Staffordshire Division and arrived in Normandy on the 26th June 1944 as part of the follow up to the D-Day landings. At the end of July 1944 after heavy fighting and suffering heavy casualties around Caen and the Orne river the 59th was disbanded and the remaining troops dispersed to other units/divisions.
My father was sent to the 2nd Bn Gordon Highlanders and continued the advance through France and Belgium to Holland. On the 31st October 1944 near Asten in Holland he was wounded whilst attacking a farmhouse and woke up in a German Field Hospital flash blinded and with shrapnel wounds. When he recovered his sight and was well enough he was moved initially to Stalag 9C and then to Stalag Luft XIB where he spent the remainder of the war until liberated in April 1945.
He said conditions were harsh and food was scarce but towards the end of the war they were able to trade with the locals and some guards which helped. He even managed to obtain a camera and took some of the attached pictures for posterity. He told few stories of his time as a prisoner but he did appear in the newsreel at the gate of the camp when it was liberated which gave much relief to his family at home when they saw him.
Charles returned to the army when he recovered from the months of malnourishment and served until 1948 before being demobbed. He served in Germany as part of the British occupation and bore no grudge against the ordinary German people who he became quite fond of after the war.
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Pte. Charles Taylor . British Army Cameron Highlanders from Ashton u Lyne Charles Taylor served with the Cameron Highlanders. I have a few photos of my father and a letter from his camp. Sadly he died of cancer when I was 10 and I did not have much information about his Army life or civilian life just these photos and his letter.
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Ord.Sea. Charles Owen Taylor . Royal Navy H.M.S. Raleigh from 4 Whitby Road, Runcorn (d.22nd Apr 1941) Charles Taylor was the son of Charles and Florence Taylor of Runcorn, Cheshire and husband of Phyllis Taylor of Runcorn.
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WO. Clarence Taylor . Royal Air Force 460 Sqd. Clarrie Taylor served as a navigator with 460 Sqd.
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Ord.Sea. Colin Campbell Fisher Taylor . Royal Navy HMS Matchless from Stratford Upon Avon  My Father, Colin Taylor joined the HMS Matchless on it's commission in Glasgow in 1941.
He saw action in the Maltese convoys (including the famous Operation Harpoon convoy that saved Malta), the Russian Artic convoys, and participated in the sinking of the German Battle Cruiser, the Scharnhorst.
Matchless undertook sea trials in the Firth of Clyde and then joined the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow for crew training in gunnery and torpedo attacks. Her first active service was on an Arctic convoy to Murmansk and the Kola Inlet. On 13 May 1942 she was one of four destroyers that sailed from Murmansk escorting the light cruiser HMS Trinidad , which had been damaged during a previous convoy and partially repaired for her homeward voyage. On 15 May 20 Ju 88 bombers attacked the flotilla and one bomb set Trinidad on fire and crippled her. Matchless rescued over 200 survivors and then scuttled Trinidad by torpedoing her.
In June 1942 Matchless took part in Operation Harpoon: a heavily-armed convoy to relieve the besieged island of Malta. The convoy sailed from Gibraltar on 12 June and Matchless was damaged by a mine off Malta on 15 June. This forced her to remain in Malta for repairs, where she survived 265 air raids. In August she sailed from Malta disguised as an Italian warship. She reached Gibraltar just in time to join Operation Pedestal, which was the next convoy to relieve Malta.
After Operation Pedestal, Matchless escorted two successful Arctic convoys from Loch Ewe to the Kola Inlet: JW 51A in December 1942 and JW 51B in December and January. In May and June 1943 Matchless escorted RMS Queen Mary part-way across the North Atlantic while the liner was carrying Winston Churchill to the USA.[1] She then escorted further Arctic convoys: JW 54B in November 1943 and JW 55A in December 1943.
Matchless was returning from the Kola Inlet with RA 55A in late December when she and three other destroyers were ordered to detach from the convoy to assist HMS Duke of York to engage the Scharnhorst. On Boxing Day (26 December) 1943 the German battlecruiser was attacked in the Battle of the North Cape. She was weakened first by shellfire from Duke of York, then by torpedoes from British and Norwegian destroyers. Finally the destroyer detachment from Convoy JW 55A, including HMS Matchless, closed in and sank Scharnhorst with a further 19 torpedoes.
After the battle, Matchless returned to Scapa Flow, resumed duties with the Home Fleet and performed escort duties including further Arctic convoys until August 1944. She was paid then off in Hull, but after repairs and a re-fit she was recommissioned later the same month. Matchless saw further service in the Mediterranean until 1945, and was then decommissioned in April 1946.
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Flying Officer D W B Taylor . RAF 59 Squadron
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Pte. Denis Charles "Spud" Taylor . British Army Northamptonshire Regiment Denis Charles Taylor served with the Northamptonshire Regiment during WW2 and was a POW in Stalag 20B Malbork Poland. His POW number was 12065.
My father was a prisoner of war at stalag xxb (1940-45). He escaped on several occasions and was tortured by the Gestapo. They pierced his eardrums.
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Pte. Denis Charles "Spud" Taylor . British Army 2nd Battalion Northampton Regiment My father was captured on the retreat to Dunkirk. He was sent to Stalag XXb.
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Sgt Douglas Taylor . British Army Royal Artillery from Dromara, North Ireland
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Sergeant Douglas Taylor . British Army from Inchmarlo I was recently given some photographs by my mother that belonged to my grandad, Sgt Douglas Taylor P.O.W. 17698 Stalag XXA (3) May 1943. I grew up with them in Aberdeen and this was the first time I’d ever seen the photos. My grandad sadly passed away in the early 1980’s.
I feel duty bound to see that they get posted into the public domain so that someone may see their loved ones.
I hope that these photos can prove to be as invaluable to others as they have been for me, by providing a window into my grandad's life as a P.O.W.
One photo taken prior to the war showed his prowess at football, he won 4 trophies in a year with Abergeldie FC:
Winners of “The Bon-Accord League Championship”, Orion Challenge Trophy, X.L Cup and the Hay Cup in Season 1930-31
At Stalag XXA, my grandad was in the Scotland Team against England. He is 3rd from the left on the front row with the bald head.
There are photos of both teams – only the names of the Scotland team were recorded on the reverse of the photo.
My grandad sent the photos and postcards to my grandma in Inchmarlo in Kincardineshire. Sgt Douglas Taylor was a cook in the Army and was given the P.O.W. number 17698. I don’t know which Division or Brigade he served in or even his service number, only that these photos are from Stalag XXA. The photos are date stamped 1943 on the reverse with M-Stammlager XXA Gepruft 19.
There are several photos of plays, orchestras, boxing and even one of prisoners playing table tennis. One photo shows the Graudenz Dance Band.
Sadly there are also photos of funerals including two for Bob Park, a comrade of 153rd TA RAMC. In one of the photos it mentioned Col. McKay and Capt. Blanthorne in attendance at this sad occasion. Another photo is the funeral of Danny Faulds in 1942
There’s a postcard with my grandad at the head of the table in what looks like a birthday party as there is a cake with his name and a few plates of what appears to be pastries!
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DW Taylor . British Army Royal Armoured Corps DW Taylor served with the Royal Armoured Corps British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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E Taylor . British Army E Taylor served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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