Hubert Harben Taylor

Rank: Private

Regiment: 14th Battalion, London Scottish (London Regiment)

Brother: E M Taylor

Address: 32 Vale Road, St Leonards

Other Info: The text of the article reads: “We received the above portraits on Friday, and with them the following letter:- “Guernsey”, Vale Road, St Leonards. Dear Sir, I enclose two photographs if you care to publish them in this week’s Pictorial, one of myself and one of my brother, who is in a football jersey, is a Private in the 2nd Dorset Regiment, and has been taken prisoner with General Townshend’s Force in Kut-el-Amara. He went through all the campaign, and was wounded at Christmas fighting near Baghdad. No news has been heard from him since December, although we believe he is quite safe. He was in Parr’s Bank, Hastings in 1912, and then left for their Bournemouth Branch, and was in the local YMCA football team. The other photograph is of myself, and tomorrow I am leaving to join my Regiment, the London Scottish, so hope to fill his place now he is handicapped for the duration of the war. I am only 18, am also at Parr’s Bank, Hastings.

In Death they were not Divided reads: “…Three comrades in the London Scottish. Private Taylor was the son of Mr & Mrs Taylor of ‘Guernsey’, 32 Vale Road, St Leonards, and Private Sinclair was former manager of the Palace Hotel, Hastings. The three were firm friends, and when they left for the Front they were ‘seen off’ by Private Taylor’s father. On 28th October 1916 an unlucky rifle grenade or bomb fell amongst a sentry post of six men, and the three friends were killed together by the same explosive.”

According to CWGC, Hubert is remembered at Laventie Military Cemetery, La Gorgue, grave reference III.B.5.

Additional name information from the Lives of the First World War website.

Published: May 1916 & December 1916

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