Private 300061 Frederick John Taylor

  Photograph of Frederick Taylor courtesy of the Taylor family.                        Grave photo courtesy Ralph McLean of South Africa War Graves Project.
  A further photograph of Frederick can be found at the bottom of the page.

Died Egypt on Friday, 18th October 1918, age 24.
Buried in Grave E. 22. at Alexandria (Hadra) War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt.

1st/1st Bn., Staffordshire Yeomanry. 12th Cavalry Brigade of 4th Cavalry Division.
Formerly 2568 Staffs Yeomanry, and 300061 Corps of Hussars.

Son of Frederick and Elizabeth Taylor, of 32, Addenbrook St., Darlaston, Wednesbury.
Born: Tipton, Enlisted: Walsall, Resident: Darlaston.

First landed Egypt, 10th November 1915.
Medal entitlement: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal.
Soldier's Papers at National Archives did not survive.

Not commemorated on any Tipton memorial, but commemorated on the Darlaston War 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/477239/

Genealogical Data

1901 Census
24 Westfield Road, Smethwick.
Frederick Taylor (33, Police Constable, born Rowington, Warks), his wife Elizabeth (30, born Brierley Hill), and their 4 children: Sarah Elizabeth (8, born Tipton), Frederick John (7, born Tipton), Beatrice fanny (6, born Tipton), and Ethel May (6 months, born Smethwick).

1911 Census
32 Addenbrook Street, Darlaston, Wednesbury.
Frederick Taylor (43, Police Constable, born Rowington, Warks), his wife Elizabeth (40, born Brierley Hill), and 5 of their 7 surviving children of 10: Frederick John (17, Steel Tube Screwer, born Tipton), Ethel May (10, Invalid, born Smethwick), Albert Edward (8, born Smethwick), James Harold (5, born Darlaston), and Arthur (2, born Smethwick).

Marriage of Frederick J. Taylor and Winifred M. Done registered March quarter 1915 in Walsall.

Personal Data

After Frederick's death, his outstanding army pay and allowances amounted to £32/12/11d (32 pounds, 12 shillings and 11 pence); this was paid to his widow and sole legatee Winifred M. Taylor. His War Gratuity of £19/10/0d ((19 pounds and 10 shillings) was paid in December 1919, again to his widow Winifred. The amount of gratuity and his date of death suggest that Frederick enlisted in August 1914.

Frederick's widow, Winifred Matilda, was awarded a Widow's Pension of 13/9d (13 shillings and 9 pence) per week effective from 28th April 1919; she was living at her parent's home - 51 Kings Street, Darlaston. She had already received a £5 grant on 5th November 1918. The weekly pension would have ceased in December quarter 1920 when Winifred married George Thomas Fox, she would then have received a re-marriage lump sum to compensate for the cessation of the pension.

Action resulting in his death

The 1st/1st Staffs Yeomanry was a Territorial Army Cavalry unit; they served in Eygpt and Palestine. In mid-1917 they were one of the 3 Yeomanry units which formed the 22nd Mounted Brigade of the Yeomanry Mounted Division. In July 1918 this was re-designated as the 12th Brigade of the 4th Cavalry Division under the command of General Allenby.

The 1st/1st Staffs Yeomanry played a key role in the decisive Battle of Megiddo (19th - 25th September 1918). The 1st/1st Staffs Yeomanry joined the Desert Mounted Corps under the Australian General Harry Chauvel and took part in his strategic cavalry ‘bound’ from the desert through Beisan, a forced march which covered an epic 87 miles in 33 hours: a record in cavalry history. After resting four days during which they took 5,800 prisoners, they were part of a triumphal entry into the Syrian city of Damascus with Allenby on 1 October 1918.

After a week, the Regiment started on a 200-mile trek to Aleppo, having been reduced to just 75 men, 200 of them having become casualties from malignant malaria caught in the Jordan valley. However, Aleppo was captured on 25 October 1918, and 5 days later Turkey surrendered.

As Fred Taylor is buried in Alexandria, he was presumably evacuated some time earlier as Damascus is 750 miles distant. The War Diary entry for 30th August 1918 had already stated "Abnormal rate of sickness, 7 officers and 166 other ranks being evacuated in the month, ...without doubt due to trying climatic conditions". We do not know the date of Frederick becoming sick, but he is recorded as having died in the 17th General Hospital in Alexandria, and is buried in Alexandria War Cemetery.

Contact with members of Frederick Taylor’s family in October 2018 led to the following: “Family memories are that Frederick was shot and bought back to Alexandria and then died from pneumonia. However, we are unable to confirm this, except the pneumonia part which is recorded on the CWGC website.”

Newspaper Cuttings

None.

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  This fine photograph of Frederick Taylor is courtesy of Terry Smitheman.