Rugby Player Underhill Farm Cemetery
82738 Lance Corporal Reginald Taylor, 1st Wellington Infantry Battalion, 1st New Zealand Infantry Brigade, New Zealand Division. Killed in action 20 June 1917, age 28. Grave B.6. He was educated at Inglewood School where he began his rugby career and went on to play his club rugby with Waimate Club, Taranaki for several seasons and then for Kaponga which he captained. He played for the Taranaki team in the Ranfurly shield match against Auckland in 1910, 1912, and 1913. He was selected to play for New Zealand against Australia on two occasions in a three match series, after the first test the main All Black squad had gone off on their tour of North America. So both of Taylor's appearances were for a second selection despite carrying official test cap status. He enlisted in April 1915 and initially served during the Gallipoli Campaign before going to the Western Front. On the 20 June 1917 the Battalion was in the area south of the Ypres Salient around Messines and were providing working parties to assist with the consolidation of the trench positions. Reginald was killed by shell fire and his company commander wrote to his parents: ‘We had just returned from work we were carrying out, and he was taking his section back when the enemy started shelling again….’
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