Discovering the Taylor Brothers: Inscribed Memories

In a churchyard in north-eastern France, there are inscriptions left by soldiers from the First World War. English, Welsh, Scottish, Irish, Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian. One person has been diligently photographing and documenting these inscriptions, and there are several 18th Battalion men whose inscriptions live on because of his work. It puts a soldier at a place and time and connects his service to the thread of that man’s life history. The inscriptions are tangible reminders of where these men served. They are often only a name and a regimental number. Some of them only had a first initial with a last name, making it hard to find the soldier. Some appear to be complete, but some external force has damaged or worn the inscription, so the positive identity of that man is nearly impossible.

These inscriptions are found at Bouvigny Boyeffles, France, near Bully-les-Mines and the city of Lens. This is an area where the 18^th Battalion served from November 1916 to January 1917, giving the soldiers of the 18^th Battalion plenty of time to be in this area.

Samples of some of the inscriptions of the men of the 18th Battalion can be found below.

There is one that has three concrete snippets of information, two of which connect the inscription two, not just one, soldiers of the 18^th Battalion. And they were brothers.

Evidence

The inscription reads:

****** TAYLOR

145— or 195— 8 or 18 BATT

Investigation

Checking the 18th Battalion database, there are two men with the surname Taylor with a regimental number starting with 195 and ending with 8.[i]

There are no men with the surname Taylor starting with regimental number 145.

The two men on file are:

195828 Pte. Hiram Taylor

195218 L/Cpl. Samson Taylor

NOTE: These men were Indigenous brothers from the Curve Lake Reserve near Peterborough, Ontario.

Checking their service records to collate the dates the men had to be with the 18th Battalion when it was in the Bouvigny Boyeffles area – late 1916 to Spring 1917 and August 1917. An examination of these men’s service file determined that:

195828 Pte. Hiram Taylor

Pte. Hiram Taylor arrived at the 18th Battalion on 3 October 1916. He was wounded on 31 December 1916 and was sent to England for treatment, returning on 24 January 1917. He then took ill on 16 February 1917, never to return to the 18th Battalion.

A review of his service file indicated that the possibility exists that this man may have inscribed his name on the wall.

195218 L/Cpl. Samson Taylor

This man arrived at the 18th Battalion on 16 September 1916 and served until wounded on 15 August 1917, from which he was sent to England for treatment, and never returned to Belgium or France during the rest of the war.

This indicates that this man may also be a likely candidate for the soldiers on file.

Conclusion

Without further research, it cannot be determined positively that this inscription was created by either man, but there is circumstantial evidence that either one may have made the inscription. If information came forward to the fact that one of the brothers used the epithet “Ted” or “Teddy” this would create a stronger connection to this inscription and these men.

From the sources available to the author, there is no evidence or indication that either brother used “Ted” or “Teddy” as an also known as alternative.

It cannot be stated that this inscription can be positively attributed to either of these men, but their service records, combined with the 18^th Battalion War diary, along with other inscriptions found there by other men of the 18^th Battalion, make it a possibility.

Certainly, without the efforts of Quentin de Givenchy, we would not have had the opportunity to know of these men and their service to our great country.

The Brothers

		Taylor Brothers
Reg. Number	First Name	Surname	Enlisted	Served
195218	Samson	Taylor	93rd	18th
195827	Horace Dean	Taylor	93rd	Cdn. Forestry Corps
195828	Hiram	Taylor	93rd	18th
195839	William	Taylor	93rd	18th
195959	Issac	Taylor	93rd	18th

Four of the brothers served with the 18^th Battalion. All of them survived the war, save for Private Issac Taylor, who died of wounds received on 31 December 1916. Therefore, Issac and Hiram were probably wounded by the same shell. Issac was wounded on the right buttock and both thighs. Hiram was recorded to have a slight wound to his neck.

All the brothers who survived are buried at the cemetery at Curve Lake.

Summary

It cannot be determined beyond a shadow of doubt that the inscription can be positively attributed to either one of the Taylor brothers, but it is possible that one of them did do the inscription. They served in the area where the inscription was found, and several other soldiers of the 18^th Battalion did inscribe their names at that site.

One likes to think that one of the brothers did the inscription as the other looked on, never imagining that it would be known to others over 100 years later.

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[i] A check of the 77^th Battalion’s nominal roll found one man, Private John Alexander Tayler, reg. no. 145488, was found, but he never served on the Continent, having seen service in Canada and England.