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Harold Burfield Taylor
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Harold Burfield Taylor
Brigadier Harold Burfield Taylor, MC & Bar, VD (10 August 1890 – 15 March 1966) was an analytical chemist and an Australian Army officer who served in the First and the Second World Wars. A junior officer in the First World War, during the Second World War he was commander of the 22nd Infantry Brigade during the Japanese invasion of Malaya. Captured along with many of his fellow soldiers following the fall of Singapore, he spent the remainder of the war as a prisoner of war. In civilian life, he was an analyst for the government and an expert in poisons, often called upon to give evidence in criminal trials involving poisoning.
Taylor was born on 10 August 1890 in Enfield, Sydney to Ernest Taylor, a civil servant originally from England, and his Australian wife, Louisa née Chowne. He was educated at Sydney Boys' High School and the University of Sydney, where he graduated Bachelor of Science in 1912. Interested in chemistry and military science, he served with the Sydney University Scouts (a Militia unit), and was commissioned in 1913.
Taylor commenced his analytic career as assistant government analyst in the New South Wales Department of Public Health in 1915. While his work involved analysis of a wide range of products, he became well known for giving evidence in criminal trials involving poisons.
Taylor volunteered for the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in 1915 and, commissioned as a second lieutenant in September that year, was assigned to 19th Battalion. The battalion at the time was involved in training in Egypt following the Gallipoli Campaign, before embarking in March 1916 to France for service on the Western Front.
The battalion engaged in the trench warfare that was typical of the front, and took part in the Battle of Pozières. Prior to this, in June, Taylor had been promoted to lieutenant. Early the following year, he was promoted again, this time to captain. At Lagnicourt, Taylor's leadership of his company was crucial in defeating a German attack during the second phase of the Battle of Arras on 15 April, and he was rewarded with a Military Cross (MC).
Taylor was recommended for a Bar to his MC on 9 October 1917. This was for his actions during the Battle of Poelcappelle which was part of the Battle of Passchendaele, when he led a small force of two companies to capture German positions in Daisy Wood, near Ypres. The citation for the Bar, appearing in The London Gazette in April 1918, read:
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when held up during an advance. Taking with him one officer and ten other ranks, he attacked the position and succeeded in capturing it, taking fifteen of the enemy prisoners, wounding numerous others, and putting the remainder to flight.
He continued to serve with the battalion until the end of the war, brought about by the armistice with Germany on 11 November 1918, and, upon his return to Australia, was discharged from the AIF the following year.
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Harold Burfield Taylor
Brigadier Harold Burfield Taylor, MC & Bar, VD (10 August 1890 – 15 March 1966) was an analytical chemist and an Australian Army officer who served in the First and the Second World Wars. A junior officer in the First World War, during the Second World War he was commander of the 22nd Infantry Brigade during the Japanese invasion of Malaya. Captured along with many of his fellow soldiers following the fall of Singapore, he spent the remainder of the war as a prisoner of war. In civilian life, he was an analyst for the government and an expert in poisons, often called upon to give evidence in criminal trials involving poisoning.
Taylor was born on 10 August 1890 in Enfield, Sydney to Ernest Taylor, a civil servant originally from England, and his Australian wife, Louisa née Chowne. He was educated at Sydney Boys' High School and the University of Sydney, where he graduated Bachelor of Science in 1912. Interested in chemistry and military science, he served with the Sydney University Scouts (a Militia unit), and was commissioned in 1913.
Taylor commenced his analytic career as assistant government analyst in the New South Wales Department of Public Health in 1915. While his work involved analysis of a wide range of products, he became well known for giving evidence in criminal trials involving poisons.
Taylor volunteered for the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in 1915 and, commissioned as a second lieutenant in September that year, was assigned to 19th Battalion. The battalion at the time was involved in training in Egypt following the Gallipoli Campaign, before embarking in March 1916 to France for service on the Western Front.
The battalion engaged in the trench warfare that was typical of the front, and took part in the Battle of Pozières. Prior to this, in June, Taylor had been promoted to lieutenant. Early the following year, he was promoted again, this time to captain. At Lagnicourt, Taylor's leadership of his company was crucial in defeating a German attack during the second phase of the Battle of Arras on 15 April, and he was rewarded with a Military Cross (MC).
Taylor was recommended for a Bar to his MC on 9 October 1917. This was for his actions during the Battle of Poelcappelle which was part of the Battle of Passchendaele, when he led a small force of two companies to capture German positions in Daisy Wood, near Ypres. The citation for the Bar, appearing in The London Gazette in April 1918, read:
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when held up during an advance. Taking with him one officer and ten other ranks, he attacked the position and succeeded in capturing it, taking fifteen of the enemy prisoners, wounding numerous others, and putting the remainder to flight.
He continued to serve with the battalion until the end of the war, brought about by the armistice with Germany on 11 November 1918, and, upon his return to Australia, was discharged from the AIF the following year.
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