Edward Wilfred Taylor (29 April 1891-1 November 1980) was a British manufacturer of optical instruments.

Biography

Taylor was born on 29 April 1891 at 20

Bootham Bootham is a street in the city of York, England, leading north out of the city centre. It is also the name of the small district surrounding the street. History The street runs along a ridge of slightly higher ground east of the River Ouse, Yo ...

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, to parents Charlotte Fernandes Taylor and Harold Dennis Taylor (a designer of optical instruments for Thomas Cooke & Sons). He attended a preparatory school at Orelton, Scarborough, before, at age 14, attending

Oundle School Oundle School is a public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding school, boarding and day school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire ...

. He left school in 1908 to take up an apprenticeship at Thomas Cooke & Sons in York. In 1912 he travelled to the US aboard to demonstrate rangefinder equipment to the US government. At the outbreak of the First World War, he enlisted in the 21st Battalion Royal Fusiliers and subsequently commissioned to the

Sherwood Foresters The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to ...

as a range finding officer. Taylor subsequently served in the

Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) (until 1921 known as the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Lancashire R ...

during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

, where he was wounded. After recovery he was transferred to the

Grand Fleet The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. History Formed in August 1914 from th ...

Scapa Flow Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Its sheltered waters have played an impor ...

and served aboard the . In 1917 he was seconded to the Royal Navy as a lieutenant and attached to HMS ''President'' (shore establishment), where he was involved in the equipping of the naval fleet with new searchlights. He was demobilised in April 1919. Taylor returned to York and to work at Thomas Cooke & Sons. He married Winifred Mary Hunter in 1921. In 1926 he was appointed optical manager at his firm and was involved in constructing instruments for

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

and the

Greenwich Observatory The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG; known as the Old Royal Observatory from 1957 to 1998, when the working Royal Greenwich Observatory, RGO, temporarily moved south from Greenwich to Herstmonceux) is an observatory situated on a hill in G ...

. During the Second World War Taylor was involved in designed and producing rangefinder equipment for the allied armies. Taylor was an accomplished naturalist and supported nature conservatory throughout his life. He served as President of the Yorkshire Naturalists Union in 1955; his presidential address was titled "A summary of our knowledge of Yorkshire mammals 1881-1955". He was a founding member of the

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is a charitable non-governmental organisation, one of the UK's 46 county-based Wildlife Trusts. Its focus is nature conservation and it works to achieve a nature-rich Yorkshire with healthy and resilient ecosystems ...

. He was a member, and subsequently, a Vice-President of the

Yorkshire Philosophical Society The Yorkshire Philosophical Society (YPS) is a charitable learned society (charity reg. 529709) which aims to promote the public understanding of the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the archaeology and history of York and Yorkshire. ...

. Taylor was awarded a

CBE 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 ...

in 1946. He was elected as a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

on 20 March 1952, and was also a Fellow of the

Royal Microscopical Society The Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) is a learned society for the promotion of microscopy. It was founded in 1839 as the Microscopical Society of London making it the oldest organisation of its kind in the world. In 1866, the Society gained it ...

Select publications

*1921-22. "The effect of changes of surface curvature at the focus of an astronomical object glass", ''Transactions of the Optical Society'' 23, 241. *1930. "The Tavistock transit theodolite", ''Transactions of the Optical Society'' 32, 45. *1940. "The effects of eccentricity and misplaced indices of divided circles", ''Empire Survey Review'' 5, 466. *1950. "The application of phase contrast to the ultra-violet microscope", ''Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B'', 137, 322. *1955. ''Theodolite design and construction''. York: Cooke, Troughton & Simms Lt.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Edward Wilfred 1891 births 1980 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society People educated at Oundle School British scientific instrument makers Fellows of the Royal Microscopical Society Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society British Army personnel of World War I Royal Navy personnel of World War I People from York