Article by Ralph Taylor
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The Taylor Family
A Story that Covers Both World Wars
These are the facts that started many years before the 1914-1918 War and the story tells of the suffering of many mothers during these wars.
My family were living in London, and my mother, on the death of her brother's wife during childbirth left him with boy twins. These my mother brought up with her own family. These two boys both joined the Navy and went down with Lord Kitchener on HMS Hampshire at the age of 18. That was the first tragedy.
I was one of six brothers in the family and William one of the eldest joined a territorial unit, the Somerset Cyclist Battalion. He was the first to get killed at Passchendaele, Belgium, on 4 October 1917 at the age of 21 with no known grave.
Walter joined the Warwickshire Regiment and through war service was invalided from the Service and died at the age of 28.
Richard, the luckiest of all, emigrated to Canada shortly after the Titanic disaster on SS Alaunia, on which was held a Memorial Service where the Titanic sank. On the outbreak of War 1914, Richard joined up and came home on the SS Anglo Colombia with several hundred best horses from the Canadian ranches. This ship was sunk by a German submarine and many horses, which broke loose before the ship went down, had to be shot when swimming towards the lifeboats. After landing at a southern port in Ireland Richard got to England, and joined the Devonshire Yeomanry. Once more he found himself on a troop ship, the SS Ivernia bound for the Middle East but this ship was also sunk by a German submarine in the Mediterranean with the loss of over 300 troops. Again Richard was a survivor and landed at Alexandria. From there his luck continued. On joining General Allenby, and although wounded twice against the Turks, he survived the war.
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and to help with communications moved into Brumana in the hills Lebanon, until it was over. Spent our first Xmas here 1941. By March 1942 moved into the Western Desert at Gambut near Tobruk. When Tobruk was captured our unit just got away in time, and finished up just behind the Alamein line. We were now attached to the 7th Motor Brigade, 7th Armoured Division. After the battle which lasted 12 days after we broke out, I saw a solid black mass as far as the eyes could see across the desert of thousands upon thousands of Italian prisoners left stranded as the Germans had taken their transport. It was plain sailing then with the Germans in full retreat.
I had a lucky escape from a German booby trap which I picked up on top of Halfaya Pass, looking for an insulator to work an open aerial. I threw it away immediately as it exploded. Many soldiers had kicked around objects on the ground and had their feet or legs blown off.
With rain falling heavily for 4 days or more, most transport got bogged down and getting into Tunisia was a sea of mud. The Germans held us up again at the Mareth Line, but with the New Zealanders taking a left hook into the desert, and got behind the Germans who were once more in full retreat. That was practically their last stand before Tunis. My unit getting as far as Sfax, were pulled out and made our way back to Tripoli.
After a month we were on a landing craft infantry for the invasion of Sicily, landing at Augusta, and tasting for the first time the red and white vino. I was now attached to the 15 Infantry Brigade of 5th Brit Infantry Division the, Y Yorkshire Division. After many stiff fighting engagements, the Brigade reached the Messina Straits, ready for the crossing into Italy. After a terrific barrage we crossed without an opposition, until we landed, when we were strafed by a German fighter but got away with it. It was slow progress up through Italy with the roads and bridges and railway lines blown up. We moved across Italy to Lanciano on the Adriatic side and did communications for an Artillery Regiment. Back across country again for the river crossing of the Gariliano.
For nearly three months the Brigade got bogged down without success, and eventually pulled out and relieved by another unit. We found ourselves at a little harbour near Naples, and were told we were going to invade Anzio behind the German lines. First on the little boat, went below, and with many more laid on the open deck. That night with a thunderstorm, and torrents of rain we just laid there and let the rain belt in our face, and couldn't care less if the boat sank. In the early hours with just daylight becoming to show we landed with the Germans shelling the harbour. We made a quick move up the road, and as the Germans were shelling the woods we were told to dig in anywhere in the open field. I was with a dispatch rider and we tried several places, but found everywhere we dug after a foot deep water began to come up from the earth. We decided with our ground sheet to lay in it, and with the shelling going on till morning light, we made the best of it. Afterwards we counted dozens of shell holes quite near, but a truck left under a tree got a direct hit, but no one was near.
The rear HQ of the Brigade were left just off the beach, and infantry moved into the fortress area, where the German lines were no further than 80 yards apart from Battalion lines. Manning the telephone exchange working forward to the Infantry and back to Brigade HQ was a trying time under shell fire. This went on for 2 moths or more until Cassino was captured and then with the Germans on the run, the opposition just went, and we were on Highway Five and into Rome in no time. Just outside Rome we camped for a while to clean up, and given a day's leave to view Rome.
In no time we were on our way back to Naples, and there boarded ship, out to sea, and landed at Alexandria. By transport we made our way back to Cairo, and made camp at Mena near the pyramids. We all had the idea the division having suffered severe casualties through Sicily, and Italy were reinforcing and then being shipped to Burma. Well we were all wrong because our next move was into Palestine, and billeted down at Julius Camp, near Haifa. Here we spent Xmas 1944. Soon we were on board again leaving Haifa, and out to sea again, up into the Mediterranean and in the evening pulled into Naples. Expecting to land, but not so, in the early morning sailed out again, and landed at Marseilles, South of France. Here we piled 38 to many cattle trucks, and went through France into Belgium, and finished at Lede near Ghent where we billeted down. Here we heard the "doodle bugs" going over on their way to London.
After a spell here we made our way into Germany across the Rhine, where the airborne and paratroops were dropping. The Germans as a fighting force were almost finished, and bar a few mortar shells we had an easy crossing. The destruction as we went through the towns was terrible, with just the roads cleared by bulldozers to let the troop transports through. Wherever any houses were standing the white flags were hanging out the windows. We got as far as Celle, North Germany and here we heard the Germans had surrendered. Listening to the news around my wireless truck were several English boys who had just been released as prisoners of war and who were buoyant with joy.
Here at our billet in Celle we had our first tragedy of a young lad from Manchester, a Lineman who had been collecting German guns that had been lying about. One had a bullet in the barrel and in pulling it from the jeep the trigger caught in something and the poor lad was shot in the chest and died immediately.
From Celle we moved further south to Wolfenbutel 11 kilometres from Brunswick where our Brigade the 15th made there headquarters. It was here that I heard my father was seriously ill but not allowed home on leave because having a wife he was not my next of kin. Later on, after father had died, and after moving to Division HQ at Brunswick, and made Sergeant I got 5 weeks leave. Seeing the wife and 3 children was wonderful after nearly 5 years.
On the way back from leave, I sailed from Hull in one of the coldest winters for years. The remarkable sight was the whole North Sea frozen over all the way to Hamburg. The ship ploughed through it with great chunks of ice, one would think we were at the North Pole. On landing at Hamburg, I had the experience of being pulled into the custom room by two military police and searched hoping they would find plenty of English currency on me, which was banned from taking out of the country. They were unlucky and with their apologies let me go. When I arrived back at Brunswick I was told I had been posted back to England as a P.S.I. to a Territorial Unit at Leeds. I had previously signed on for a further 4 years. Being 1946 I had to go.
When I arrived there, I commenced planning how I could arrange a cross-posting with someone in the south who wanted to move nearer his home in the north. Getting in touch with my old Territorial Unit the 43 Inf Div Signal Regt whose HQ were at Taunton, I managed to get to Bridgwater, and eventually made it to Exeter, back to my old unit I started with before the War. From here I took on for a further 4 years and eventually after a further fortnight's camp with them in Germany was discharged in November 1954.
From then on The Royal British Legion Branch at Starcross had my services. Until now, 1989, I have been a Legion member, served as Branch Secretary for many years, Legion Journal Secretary, Welfare Officer and Poppy Appeal Fund Collector. Enjoyed all these and years, attending many Conferences, Group, County and National, also many Rallies. And feel proud to have been a member of the Armed Services. My precious treasure was being presented with the Gold Badge.
The vivid memories of my War Service was, first, stationed in Whitby, Yorkshire, seeing a convoy steaming through the North Sea with three German bombers bombing the ships with great splashes of water, and when the sea had died down the ships ploughing their way along unharmed with the bombers flying off as soon as some Spitfires appeared.
The second sight was standing near our billet, the Royal Hotel, Whitby, when a German spy plane came over the town, with two Spitfires just behind it, and on each side pumping tracers into it. It fell just outside Whitby.
My third memory now, posted to Putney, London and billeted with the Home Guard in Putney High School, during the worst bombing ever had, the Battle of Britain August-September 1940, when at night the East End of London, was just a huge red glow, and the German bomber plain as daylight shooting down the barrage balloons, with very little opposition.
My fourth memory, was seeing both crews of the cruisers Cornwall and Dorsetshire all lined up on the decks in their white uniforms who had protected the convoy right up to the Red Sea with their Aldis lamps flashing out the signals, "good luck and good hunting," before leaving.
My fifth memory, was being there and seeing the terrific artillery barrage with the sky all along the front being lit up with daylight starting around 9.40 pm. and lasting towards 3 am. zero hour, before the battle of Alamein started.
My sixth memory was after the battle of Alamein when the Germans broke, was seeing as far as the eye could see across the desert just as a black mass of Italian prisoners. Thousand and thousand of them.
My seventh memory was climbing to the top of Cologne Cathedral, Germany, and looking as far as the eye could see up the River Rhine either side, the desolation was terrible nothing standing, the work the bombers had done.
I could not finish without saying a big thank you to the wonderful time the ladies of the South African A. Forces gave us all the five days we spent in Cape Town.
I've written this, knowing that several families with many brothers could give many interesting accounts of their war experiences giving readers very interesting reading for Postbag. My dear mother brought up 11 of us with twin boys of her brother's, 13 altogether. My father passed on at 80 and my mother at 92. I myself am nearing 80, my wife a Legion member of the Women's Section before me. My two daughters very active members as well. My eldest son did his National Service and is a Legion member.
I am looking forward to many interesting stories in the Legion Postbag
to come from you many Service members.
Ralph Taylor
Starcross Branch
Devon
Last Modified: 11/09/2004 20:57