Sir Thomas Weston Johns Taylor, (2 October 1895 – 29 August 1953) was an English chemist, academic, and university administrator. He was the first Principal of the University College of the West Indies, serving from 1946 to 1952, and then Principal of the University College of the South West of England (later Exeter University) from 1952 until his death in 1953. He had previously been a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

(1920–1946) and a lecturer in

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic matter, organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain ...

at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

(1927–1946). He saw active service in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during both World Wars.

Early life and education

Taylor was born on 2 October 1895 in Little Ilford, Essex, England. He was educated at the

City of London School The City of London School, also known as CLS and City, is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for Single-sex education, boys in the City of London, England, on the banks of the River Thames next to the Millennium Bridge, ...

, an all-boys

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

in London. Having received a scholarship, he studied chemistry at

. His university studies were interrupted by military service during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He returned to Oxford after the war, and graduated with a first class Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1920. He was later awarded a

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

(DSc) degree by the

Military service

First World War

On 20 April 1915, having trained with the

Officers Training Corps The University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), also known as the Officers' Training Corps (OTC), are British Army reserve units, under the command of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which recruit exclusively from universities and focus on ...

, Taylor was commissioned into the

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

as a second lieutenant (on probation). He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, Essex Regiment. His commission and rank were confirmed in September 1915. He saw active service on the Western Front in France, and also at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

. He was wounded twice at Gallipoli.

Second World War

When the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

broke out, Taylor returned to the

, and was commissioned as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 14 January 1940. On 12 January 1941, he was assigned to the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

and promoted to war substantive

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. He served in its chemical warfare branch, and was posted to the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

until 1943. While a temporary

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

, he was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

"in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the Middle East during the period November 1941 to April 1942". In 1943, Taylor moved to the United States where he had been appointed Director of the British Central Scientific Office (BCSO) in Washington, DC. The role of the BCSO was to undertake varied scientific research in relation to the war, and to cooperate with American scientists. He undertook research as varied as insecticides, paper parachutes, and shark repellents. Then, from 1944 to the end of the war, he was assigned to

South East Asia Command South East Asia Command (SEAC) was the body set up to be in overall charge of Allied operations in the South-East Asian Theatre during the Second World War. History Organisation The initial supreme commander of the theatre was General Sir ...

as Head of the Operational Research Division.

Academic career

In 1920, Taylor was elected a

; his ''alma mater''. In 1927, he was additionally appointed a lecturer in

at the

. As a researcher he specialised in

stereochemistry Stereochemistry, a subdiscipline of chemistry, studies the spatial arrangement of atoms that form the structure of molecules and their manipulation. The study of stereochemistry focuses on the relationships between stereoisomers, which are defined ...

, but his made his name as an excellent teacher. He was a demonstrator in organic chemistry at the Dyson Perrins Laboratory. Among his students at Brasenose College was

William Golding Sir William Gerald Golding (19 September 1911 – 19 June 1993) was a British novelist, playwright, and poet. Best known for his debut novel '' Lord of the Flies'' (1954), Golding published another 12 volumes of fiction in his lifetime. In 19 ...

, who would move from studying science to literature and later won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Among those he supervised at Dyson Perrins Laboratory was Rosemary Murray; later Dame Rosemary and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. Following the end of the Second World War, Taylor moved into

academic administration Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities. Som ...

: he had learnt during the war that he was a very capable administrator. In 1946, he was selected as the first Principal of the University College of the West Indies in Jamaica. His duties involved building up the university college, establishing it in a difficult political climate, and solidifying its finances. He was successful, and was knighted for his efforts in 1952. He left the Caribbean to return to England, where he had been appointed Principal of the University College of the South West of England (later to become the University of Exeter) in July 1952.

Personal life

In 1922, Taylor married Rosamund Georgina Lloyd. They had no children. On 29 August 1953, Taylor died suddenly while on holiday in Italy: he was 57 years old.

Honours

On 23 May 1946, Taylor was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) "for services to the forces". In the 1952 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

, and therefore granted the title ''sir'', in recognition of his work as Principal of the University College of the West Indies. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II during a service at Buckingham Palace on 8 July 1952.

Selected works

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Thomas 1895 births 1953 deaths British Militia officers Military personnel from the London Borough of Newham English chemists British organic chemists Fellows of Brasenose College, Oxford Principals of the University College of the South West of England Heads of the University of the West Indies Essex Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War I Royal Engineers officers British Army personnel of World War II Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People from Essex (before 1965) People educated at the City of London School Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Officers' Training Corps officers