John Taylor - Link to Grangemouth

Regimental Sergeant Major John Taylor

284 Regimental Sergeant Major John Taylor, ‘C’ Company 8th Battalion, 2nd Infantry Brigade, 1st Australian Division.

Age: 34

Date of death: 20.9.17

Buried: Menin Gate Memorial Panel 7

Family history: Son of Duncan and Jane Taylor who lived at 21 Main Street, Bainsford. While on leave he married Mary Taylor (nee Milne) on 28 December 1916 in Grangemouth, and they lived at 26 Lumley Street, Grangemouth. Mary later moved to 98 Lumley Street. He had seen twelve years service with the King’s Own Scottish Borderers and  served in the Boer War and before he emigrated to Australia in 1911 he was employed by Grangemouth Police Force. He enlisted on 18 August 1914 in Ballarat, Victoria and listed his profession as Labourer.

While taking part in the Gallipoli campaign he was promoted to temporary RSM on 9 May and was then admitted sick to the 2nd Field Ambulance on 20 July before being transferred to the 26th Casualty Clearing Station on 24 July and then to the 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station on 25 July before being discharged to rejoin the Battalion on 1 August. He was admitted to hospital in Lemnos with appendicitis on 13 November 1915 and from here went to a hospital in Malta before he was discharged to duty on 21 January 1916 and sailed to Alexandria and was then placed on the supernumerary list of the 8th Battalion on 12 February. On the 26 April he sailed from Alexandria to Marseilles disembarking on 30 April and joined the Battalion from the list on 31 August 1916 and assumed the rank of RSM.

His brother James was serving as a Lance Corporal with the 4th Battalion Black Watch when he died of his wounds on 28 March 1917 and is buried at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery Grave XI.C.17.

Action leading to his death

On the 20 September 1917 the Battalion was involved in the Battle of the Menin Road, 20 to 25 September), and this was the third British general attack of the Third Battle of Ypres. The main attack was made by X Corps and the 1st Anzac Corps, on a 4,000 yd (2.3 mile; 3.7 km) front on the Gheluvelt plateau. Steady pressure in early September from the 47th (1/2nd London) Division, had advanced the British front line near Inverness Copse for a considerable distance, which made better jumping-off positions for the attack by the Australians.

Trench map showing the area of the action

They advanced behind a creeping barrage which the War Diary of the 8th Battalion recorded as falling short and causing more casualties amongst their ranks than the enemy fire. The Australians passed through Glencorse Wood, that had changed hands twice in August and quickly suppressed German resistance. The Germans at Fitz Clarence Farm were kept under cover by rifle grenade fire, while other groups got behind and rushed the garrison, taking 41 prisoners. Infiltration was also used against German machine-gunners in concrete shelters along the sunken road in the north end of the wood, who had caused many casualties. Close reserves worked behind the shelters, fought their way in and killed or captured the garrison. Nonne Bosschen was crossed by moving along the edges of shell craters, the second objective along the west edge of Polygon Wood being reached on time at 7:45 a.m. The Wilhemstellung (third line) pill-boxes were captured quickly, while the German defenders were dazed by the bombardment and unable to resist. The 8th Battalion HQ was established in a captured concrete emplacement at Polygon Wood and the War Diary recorded at 2.05pm that the battery that had been falling short continued to fall short and that the Battalion RSM was killed by a shell from this battery that landed in the rear of the Battalion HQ.

John was originally buried at Black Watch Corner, Polygon Wood and his body was subsequently lost. An Army chaplain wrote to his wife advising her of his death and that he had been wounded by a piece of shell fragment. He was Mentioned in Despatches on 7 November 1917 for his distinguished and gallant service and devotion to duty on the field during the period 26 February to 20 September 1917.