John Henry Taylor was born in 1919, the fourth son and sixth child of Arthur and Amelia Taylor of Chatham. In 1921, the family was living at 158 Charter Street, Chatham, and John’s father was a gas and water meter reader at Chatham Dockyard.
As John’s name is one of the fifteen on the Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham Gas Company Roll of Honour, he may have followed his father into similar work. However, there is no firm evidence of this, as he does not appear with his family in the 1939 register.
Based on their service numbers, John likely enlisted shortly before Roland Stewart, whose name appears above his on the Roll of Honour, as both served in the 5th Battalion of the Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment. In the spring of 1939, the government announced that the Territorial Army was to be doubled in strength. At the same time, with limited conscription about to be introduced, many young men were keen to volunteer before it took effect, preferring to join a local Territorial unit rather than be called up for compulsory service – a move widely seen as a way of retaining some choice over where and with whom they would serve.
Many enlisted alongside friends, brothers, and workmates and, in the Medway Towns, this surge in recruitment was particularly marked, with volunteers joining the 5th Battalion, Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment, in large numbers before the deadline closed at midnight on Wednesday 24 April 1939.
The Territorial Army was made up of part-time volunteers intended to support the Regular Army. Before the war, they trained mainly in their spare time – typically at evening drills, weekend exercises, and an annual two-week camp – and many had only limited preparation for modern warfare. Their role was to reinforce the army in time of war, including labouring tasks such as digging trenches, rather than serving as front-line professional soldiers.
Just before the outbreak of war, the battalions were mobilised for full-time service and began more intensive training. The 5th Battalion formed part of 132nd Brigade in the 44th (Home Counties) Division and was sent to Dorset, where training continued through one of the coldest winters in many years. By early 1940, now more fully equipped, the brigade was inspected by King George VI before departing for France.
The battalion disembarked at Cherbourg and travelled by train towards the Belgian border, before marching the final 90 miles in just four days. The men were billeted in the town of Bailleul and in nearby farms, where conditions were good and the locals welcoming. There, they settled into the routine of digging and improving defensive positions, their days spent at work on the defences and their evenings often passed in sing-songs in the local estaminets.
On the evening of 9 May, the officers of the 5th Battalion gave a memorable cocktail party to celebrate the formation of the Queen’s Own Brigade. As one account recalled, “The party was somewhat protracted, and many of the officers were rather late getting to bed. Within an hour or so aircraft could be heard zooming overhead, followed by bursts of machine-gun fire.” The German attack had begun. That afternoon, the battalion moved off, leaving surplus stores and regimental property – including band instruments – in cellars and farms. Marching mainly at night along tracks and cobbled roads, they covered 22 miles on the first night and 30 on the second.
For men like John, now Private Taylor, these early days in France soon gave way to confusion and exhaustion. Following the German attack on 10 May 1940, the battalion was drawn into a rapid withdrawal, marching long distances – often by night – along crowded roads filled with troops, transport, and refugees. Orders changed quickly, positions were taken up and abandoned, and units became increasingly disjointed as the British Expeditionary Force was forced back towards the Channel ports.
By 23-24 May, the 5th Battalion had reached the area around Strazeele and Le Paradis, where they were placed in reserve but remained under constant threat from air attack. The men, already exhausted, spent what time they could digging defensive positions while under repeated bombing and machine-gunning from low-flying aircraft. In these conditions – marked by fatigue, confusion, and intermittent fighting – men were often separated from their units. It was during this phase of the retreat that Private Taylor was reported missing on 24 May 1940, one of many whose fate could not be immediately determined in the chaos of those days.
Although his war had lasted just a few short weeks, it would be over five years, in July 1945, before Private John Henry Taylor was finally declared presumed killed in action on 24 May 1940.
Private John Henry Taylor is commemorated on the Dunkirk Memorial, France
