George Taylor (soldier)
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Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...
George Taylor, (17 September 1905 – 17 July 1994) was a senior officer 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 ...
.


Military career

Taylor was commissioned into the
West Yorkshire Regiment The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army. In 1958 it amalgamated with the East Yorkshire Regiment (15th Foot) to form the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire which was ...
on 2 February 1929. He saw action in the Norwegian campaign and, after being evacuated, then took part in the
Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...
. He became commanding officer of the 5th
Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) was a Light infantry, light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1959. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, by the merger of the 32nd ( ...
in July 1944 and, after capturing a
Tiger Tank Tiger tank may refer to: *Tiger I, or ''Panzerkampfwagen'' Tiger ''Ausf. E'', a German heavy tank produced from 1942 to 1944 *Tiger II The Tiger II was a Nazi Germany, German heavy tank of the World War II, Second World War. The final official ...
, was appointed Companion of the
Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...
; he won a bar to his DSO at the
Battle of Arnhem The Battle of Arnhem was fought during the Second World War, as part of the Allies of World War II, Allied Operation Market Garden. It took place around the Netherlands, Dutch city of Arnhem and vicinity from 17 to 26 September 1944. The Alli ...
in September 1944. According to ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', "he won an almost unrivalled reputation as a battle commanding officer in North-West Europe in 1944–45", and, by July 1955, "he might have been counted almost the most experienced field commander in the world". He went on to command the 28th Commonwealth Infantry Brigade in
Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
in the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
at the
Battle of Kapyong The Battle of Kapyong (; 22–27 April 1951), also known as the Battle of Jiaping (), was fought during the Korean War between United Nations Command (UN) forces—primarily Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand—and the 118th and 60th Divisio ...
and in Operation Commando. He later commanded the 49th Infantry Brigade in
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
during the
Mau Mau Uprising The Mau Mau rebellion (1952–1960), also known as the Mau Mau uprising, Mau Mau revolt, or Kenya Emergency, was a war in the British Kenya Colony (1920–1963) between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the Mau Mau, and the ...
. Sir David Willcocks witnessed George Taylor's skills 1st hand when they served closely together, and stated: "not only his great courage and inspiring leadership, but also the care with which we reconnoitred and planned every attack or defensive engagement, in order to minimise casualties ... his courage and concern called forth in all ranks a deep loyalty and affection." He 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 ...
in 1955. He died in July 1994.The Times, London. Obituaries, "Brigadier George Taylor" 20 July 1994


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, George 1905 births 1994 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British Army personnel of World War II British Army personnel of the Korean War British military personnel of the Mau Mau rebellion West Yorkshire Regiment officers Barbarian F.C. players Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Military personnel from Lancashire Place of death missing Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre British Army brigadiers