Tipton

Private 25826 Arthur Charles Taylor

Killed in Action on Monday, 5th November 1917, age 25.
Buried in Grave III. B. 7. at St. Julien Dressing Station Cemetery, Langemark-Poelkapelle, Belgium.

14th Bn., Worcestershire Regiment. Pioneer Battalion of 63rd (Royal Naval) Division.

Born: Princes End, Enlisted: Birmingham, Resident: Birmingham.

First landed France & Flanders, post 31st December 1915.
Medal entitlement: British War Medal, Victory Medal.
Soldier's Papers at National Archives did not survive.

Not commemorated on any Tipton memorial.
Commemorated here because identified as Tipton on 'Soldiers Died in the Great War'.

Link to Commonwealth War Graves Site: www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/447213/

Genealogical Data

Birth of Arthur Charles Taylor registered March quarter 1892 in Dudley.

1901 Census
21 Regent Street, Princes End, Tipton.
Arthur Taylor (39, Tallow Chandler, born Tipton), his wife Harriet (37, born Tipton), and their 5 children: Elsie Miriam (13, born Tipton), Jinnie (10, born Tipton), Arthur (9, born Tipton), Frank (5, born Tipton), Gladys Eleanor (2, born Tipton).

1911 Census
21 Regent Street, Princes End, Tipton. Arthur Taylor (49, Tallow Chandler), his wife Harriet (47), and their 5 surviving children of 6: Elsie Miriam (23, Elementary School Teacher, born Tipton), Jinnie (20, Elementary School Teacher, born Tipton), Arthur (19, Elementary School Teacher, born Tipton), Frank (15, Fitter, born Tipton), Gladys Eleanor (12, School, born Tipton).

Personal Data

After Arthur's death, his outstanding army pay and allowances amounted to £5/2/11d (5 pounds, 2 shillings and 11 pence); this was paid to his mother, Bertha, in March 1918. His War Gratuity was £9/0/0d (9 pounds exactly), this was also paid to his mother in December 1919. The value of the War Gratuity suggests that Arthur had enlisted in approximately October 1915.

Action resulting in his death

14th (Service) Battalion of the Worcesters were known as the Severn Valley Pioneers. They were formed at Worcester on 10th September 1915 and landed at Le Havre 21st June 1916, becoming the Pioneer Battalion to the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division.

The 63rd (Royal Naval) Division fought on the left flank of the Canadians in the final phase of Third Ypres campaign, known as "The Second Battle of Passchendaele", from 26th October to 10th November 1917. They took Varlet Farm on 26th October, but advances over the next few days were yard by yard in the rain and mud for which Ypres is remembered. Men would get stuck in the mud and drown, and the mud made rifles and machine guns useless.

On 6th November the Canadians finally took the ruins of the village of Passchendaele. In the days when the Royal Naval Division fought at Passchendaele, progress was less than one mile at the expense of some two thousand casualties. This included Arthur Taylor who is buried in the St Julien Dressing Station Cemetery, near Poelcapelle in Belgium.

Newspaper Cuttings

None.