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{{Short description|Canadian flying ace}}
{{Infobox military person
{{Infobox military person
| name = Merrill Taylor
| name = Merrill Taylor
| image =
| image =
| caption =
| caption =
| nickname =
| nickname =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1893|04|15|df=yes}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1893|04|15|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Clearview, Ontario|Singhampton]], Ontario, Canada
| birth_place = [[Clearview, Ontario|Singhampton]], Ontario, Canada
| death_date = {{death date and age|1918|07|07|1893|04|15|df=yes}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1918|07|07|1893|04|15|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Hamel]], France
| death_place = [[Le Hamel, Somme|Hamel]], France
| placeofburial = [[Arras Flying Services Memorial]]
| placeofburial = [[Arras Flying Services Memorial]]
| allegiance = Canada<br/>United Kingdom
| allegiance = Canada<br />United Kingdom
| branch = [[Canadian Army]]<br/>[[Royal Navy]]<br/>[[Royal Air Force]]
| branch = [[Canadian Expeditionary Force]]<br />[[Royal Naval Air Service]]<br />[[Royal Air Force]]
| serviceyears =
| serviceyears =
| rank = [[Lieutenant]]
| rank = [[Lieutenant]]
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==Early life==
==Early life==
Merrill Samuel Taylor was born in [[Clearview, Ontario]], Canada on 15 April 1893,<ref>http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/attestation/taylor4.php Retrieved 10 February 2012.</ref> the son of Samuel Taylor.<ref>http://www.canadiangreatwarproject.com/searches/soldierDetail.asp?Id=60616 Retrieved 10 February 2012.</ref> The younger Taylor was schooled in Singhampton and [[Yellow Grass]], Saskatchewan before matriculating at the [[University of Toronto]] in [[Applied Science]] from 1912–1916.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://airforce.ca/uploads/airforce/2009/07/gong-8s-t.html |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2011-09-15 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331030639/http://airforce.ca/uploads/airforce/2009/07/gong-8s-t.html |archivedate=2012-03-31 }}</ref>
Merrill Samuel Taylor was born in [[Clearview, Ontario]], Canada on 15 April 1893,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/attestation/taylor4.php |title=Merrill Samuel Taylor's Attestation Paper |website=www.theaerodrome.com |access-date=10 February 2012}}</ref> the son of Samuel Taylor.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.canadiangreatwarproject.com/searches/soldierDetail.asp?Id=60616 |title= Lieutenant Merrill Samuel Taylor :: CGWP Record Detail|website=www.canadiangreatwarproject.com |access-date=10 February 2012}}{{title missing|date=May 2022}}</ref> The younger Taylor was schooled in Singhampton and [[Yellow Grass]], Saskatchewan before matriculating at the [[University of Toronto]] in [[Applied Science]] from 1912 to 1916.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://airforce.ca/uploads/airforce/2009/07/gong-8s-t.html |title=SALTER, Captain Ernest James - Chevalier, Legion of Honour (France) - awarded as per London Gazette dated 30 November 1918 |accessdate=2011-09-15 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331030639/http://airforce.ca/uploads/airforce/2009/07/gong-8s-t.html |archivedate=2012-03-31 }}</ref>


Taylor was a bachelor,<ref>http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/attestation/taylor4.php Retrieved 10 February 2012.</ref> and an enthusiastic [[rugby football]] player,<ref>''Above the Trenches'', p. 359.</ref> when he enlisted on 17 April 1916 into the University's Training Company of the [[Canadian Expeditionary Force|Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force]]. His enlistment attestation listed his next of kin as his mother, Mary Taylor, who was residing in [[Regina, Saskatchewan]]. His physical examination showed him to be 5 feet 7 3/4 inches tall, dark complected, with black hair, hazel eyes, and a scar on his left jaw.<ref>http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/attestation/taylor4.php Retrieved 10 February 2012.</ref>
Taylor was a bachelor,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/attestation/taylor4.php |title=Merrill Samuel Taylor's Attestation Paper |website=www.theaerodrome.com |access-date=10 February 2012}}</ref> and an enthusiastic [[rugby football]] player,<ref>''Above the Trenches'', p. 359.</ref> when he enlisted on 17 April 1916 into the university's Training Company of the [[Canadian Expeditionary Force|Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force]]. His enlistment attestation listed his next of kin as his mother, Mary Taylor, who was residing in [[Regina, Saskatchewan]]. His physical examination showed him to be 5 feet 7 3/4 inches tall, dark complected, with black hair, hazel eyes, and a scar on his left jaw.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/attestation/taylor4.php |title=Merrill Samuel Taylor's Attestation Paper |website=www.theaerodrome.com |access-date=10 February 2012}}</ref>


==First World War==
==First World War==
On 19 January 1917, Taylor was appointed to the position of probationary [[flying officer]].
On 19 January 1917, Taylor was appointed to the position of probationary [[flying officer]].
<ref>{{cite web |url=http://airforce.ca/uploads/airforce/2009/07/gong-8s-t.html |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2011-09-15 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331030639/http://airforce.ca/uploads/airforce/2009/07/gong-8s-t.html |archivedate=2012-03-31 }}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web |url=http://airforce.ca/uploads/airforce/2009/07/gong-8s-t.html |title=SALTER, Captain Ernest James - Chevalier, Legion of Honour (France) - awarded as per London Gazette dated 30 November 1918 |accessdate=2011-09-15 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331030639/http://airforce.ca/uploads/airforce/2009/07/gong-8s-t.html |archivedate=2012-03-31 }}</ref>
By 23 July 1917, Taylor was [[commission (document)|commissioned]] as a [[Flight Sub-Lieutenant]],<ref>''Above the Trenches'', p. 359.</ref> indicating he had completed pilot's training. His first assignment was to the [[Dover Patrol]], on 23 August 1917.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://airforce.ca/uploads/airforce/2009/07/gong-8s-t.html |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2011-09-15 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331030639/http://airforce.ca/uploads/airforce/2009/07/gong-8s-t.html |archivedate=2012-03-31 }}</ref> He was then posted to No. 9 Naval Squadron of the [[Royal Naval Air Service]] as a [[Sopwith Camel]] pilot, scoring his first aerial victory on 28 September 1917. At 1620 hours that day, he was part of a squadron sweep that destroyed an [[Albatros D.III]] over [[Dixmude]], Belgium. He shared the victory with [[Stearne Tighe Edwards]], [[Fred Everest Banbury]], [[Oliver Redgate]], and [[John Hales]].<ref>''Above the Trenches'', p. 359.</ref>
By 23 July 1917, Taylor was [[commission (document)|commissioned]] as a [[Flight Sub-Lieutenant]],<ref>''Above the Trenches'', p. 359.</ref> indicating he had completed pilot's training. His first assignment was to the [[Dover Patrol]], on 23 August 1917.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://airforce.ca/uploads/airforce/2009/07/gong-8s-t.html |title=SALTER, Captain Ernest James - Chevalier, Legion of Honour (France) - awarded as per London Gazette dated 30 November 1918 |accessdate=2011-09-15 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331030639/http://airforce.ca/uploads/airforce/2009/07/gong-8s-t.html |archivedate=2012-03-31 }}</ref> He was then posted to No. 9 Naval Squadron of the [[Royal Naval Air Service]] as a [[Sopwith Camel]] pilot, scoring his first aerial victory on 28 September 1917. At 1620 hours that day, he was part of a squadron sweep that destroyed an [[Albatros D.III]] over [[Diksmuide]], Belgium. He shared the victory with [[Stearne Tighe Edwards]], [[Fred Everest Banbury]], [[Oliver Redgate]], and [[John Hales (pilot)|John Hales]].<ref>''Above the Trenches'', p. 359.</ref>


Taylor's second victory, coming just three weeks after 9 Naval became part of the brand new [[Royal Air Force]], was a momentous one. He teamed with [[Oliver Colin LeBoutillier]] to incinerate a German [[Albatros Flugzeugwerke|Albatros]] two-seater at 1025 hours on 21 April 1918. The two ex-naval pilots thus touched off the chain of events that led to the death of the war's greatest ace, [[Manfred von Richthofen]] in that day's dogfighting.<ref>''Above the Trenches'', pp. 236, 359.</ref>
Taylor's second victory, coming just three weeks after 9 Naval became part of the brand new [[Royal Air Force]], was a momentous one. He teamed with [[Oliver Colin LeBoutillier]] to incinerate a German [[Albatros Flugzeugwerke|Albatros]] two-seater at 1025 hours on 21 April 1918. The two ex-naval pilots thus touched off the chain of events that led to the death of the war's greatest ace, [[Manfred von Richthofen]] in that day's dogfighting.<ref>''Above the Trenches'', pp. 236, 359.</ref>
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Victory number six came for Taylor on 15 May, when he drove down an Albatros D.V between Belloy and [[Pozières]], France. The following day, he ended his victory list by helping to capture Leutnant Hubner of [[Jagdstaffel 4]]. [[Wilfrid May]] and Stearne Tighe Edwards helped force the German triplane to ground and its pilot to a [[prisoner of war]] camp.<ref>''Above the Trenches'', p. 359.</ref>
Victory number six came for Taylor on 15 May, when he drove down an Albatros D.V between Belloy and [[Pozières]], France. The following day, he ended his victory list by helping to capture Leutnant Hubner of [[Jagdstaffel 4]]. [[Wilfrid May]] and Stearne Tighe Edwards helped force the German triplane to ground and its pilot to a [[prisoner of war]] camp.<ref>''Above the Trenches'', p. 359.</ref>


On 7 July 1918, over Hamel, France, Taylor was shot down and killed in action by [[Franz Büchner]]. Lieutenant Merrill Samuel Taylor's grave is unknown; he is memorialized at the Arras Flying Services Memorial, [[Arras]], France.<ref>''Above the Trenches'', p. 359.</ref><ref>http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Taylor&GSfn=Merrill&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=15752480&df=all& Retrieved 11 February 2012.</ref> Taylor was awarded the [[Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)|Croix de Guerre]] by the French government for his valour.<ref>http://www.canadiangreatwarproject.com/searches/soldierDetail.asp?Id=60616 Retrieved 10 February 2012.</ref>
On 7 July 1918, over Hamel, France, Taylor was shot down and killed in action by [[Franz Büchner]]. Lieutenant Merrill Samuel Taylor's grave is unknown; he is memorialized at the Arras Flying Services Memorial, [[Arras]], France.<ref>''Above the Trenches'', p. 359.</ref><ref>http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Taylor&GSfn=Merrill&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=15752480&df=all& Retrieved 11 February 2012. {{User-generated source|certain=yes|date=March 2022}}</ref> Taylor was awarded the [[Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)|Croix de Guerre]] by the French government for his valour.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.canadiangreatwarproject.com/searches/soldierDetail.asp?Id=60616 |title= Lieutenant Merrill Samuel Taylor :: CGWP Record Detail|website=www.canadiangreatwarproject.com |access-date=10 February 2012}}{{title missing|date=May 2022}}</ref>


==Notes==
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


==References==
==References==
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{{wwi-air}}
{{wwi-air}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Merrill}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Merrill}}
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[[Category:Canadian World War I flying aces]]
[[Category:Canadian World War I flying aces]]
[[Category:Canadian military personnel killed in World War I]]
[[Category:Canadian military personnel killed in World War I]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)]]
[[Category:Canadian recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)]]
[[Category:Canadian military personnel from Ontario]]

Latest revision as of 01:13, 2 November 2024

Merrill Taylor
Born(1893-04-15)15 April 1893
Singhampton, Ontario, Canada
Died7 July 1918(1918-07-07) (aged 25)
Hamel, France
Buried
Arras Flying Services Memorial
AllegianceCanada
United Kingdom
Service / branchCanadian Expeditionary Force
Royal Naval Air Service
Royal Air Force
RankLieutenant
UnitNo. 9 Naval Squadron/No. 209 Squadron RAF
Battles / warsFirst World War
AwardsCroix de Guerre (France)

Merrill Samuel Taylor (15 April 1893 – 7 July 1918) was a Canadian flying ace of the First World War. He was credited with seven aerial victories while flying a Sopwith Camel fighter for the Royal Naval Air Service and, later, the Royal Air Force. He touched off the air battle that resulted in the death of the war's leading ace, Manfred von Richthofen, on 21 April 1918. On 2 May 1918, he killed German ace Hans Weiss for his fifth victory. Taylor was killed in action by Franz Büchner on 7 July 1918.

Early life

[edit]

Merrill Samuel Taylor was born in Clearview, Ontario, Canada on 15 April 1893,[1] the son of Samuel Taylor.[2] The younger Taylor was schooled in Singhampton and Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan before matriculating at the University of Toronto in Applied Science from 1912 to 1916.[3]

Taylor was a bachelor,[4] and an enthusiastic rugby football player,[5] when he enlisted on 17 April 1916 into the university's Training Company of the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force. His enlistment attestation listed his next of kin as his mother, Mary Taylor, who was residing in Regina, Saskatchewan. His physical examination showed him to be 5 feet 7 3/4 inches tall, dark complected, with black hair, hazel eyes, and a scar on his left jaw.[6]

First World War

[edit]

On 19 January 1917, Taylor was appointed to the position of probationary flying officer. [7] By 23 July 1917, Taylor was commissioned as a Flight Sub-Lieutenant,[8] indicating he had completed pilot's training. His first assignment was to the Dover Patrol, on 23 August 1917.[9] He was then posted to No. 9 Naval Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service as a Sopwith Camel pilot, scoring his first aerial victory on 28 September 1917. At 1620 hours that day, he was part of a squadron sweep that destroyed an Albatros D.III over Diksmuide, Belgium. He shared the victory with Stearne Tighe Edwards, Fred Everest Banbury, Oliver Redgate, and John Hales.[10]

Taylor's second victory, coming just three weeks after 9 Naval became part of the brand new Royal Air Force, was a momentous one. He teamed with Oliver Colin LeBoutillier to incinerate a German Albatros two-seater at 1025 hours on 21 April 1918. The two ex-naval pilots thus touched off the chain of events that led to the death of the war's greatest ace, Manfred von Richthofen in that day's dogfighting.[11]

The following morning, on another squadron mission, Taylor joined Robert Foster and three other pilots in capturing a German two-seater at Albert, France. Both members of the aircrew were killed in the process. Then, at 1445 hours on 27 April 1918, Taylor drove down an Albatros D.V out of control east of Villers-Bretonneux, France.[12]

At noon on 2 May, Taylor became an ace. German ace Hans Weiss, flying a Fokker Triplane, attacked one of Taylor's squadronmates a mile south of Cerisy, France. Taylor killed Weiss with a bullet through the head and destroyed his white Triplane.[13][14]

Victory number six came for Taylor on 15 May, when he drove down an Albatros D.V between Belloy and Pozières, France. The following day, he ended his victory list by helping to capture Leutnant Hubner of Jagdstaffel 4. Wilfrid May and Stearne Tighe Edwards helped force the German triplane to ground and its pilot to a prisoner of war camp.[15]

On 7 July 1918, over Hamel, France, Taylor was shot down and killed in action by Franz Büchner. Lieutenant Merrill Samuel Taylor's grave is unknown; he is memorialized at the Arras Flying Services Memorial, Arras, France.[16][17] Taylor was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French government for his valour.[18]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ "Merrill Samuel Taylor's Attestation Paper". www.theaerodrome.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  2. ^ "Lieutenant Merrill Samuel Taylor :: CGWP Record Detail". www.canadiangreatwarproject.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.[title missing]
  3. ^ "SALTER, Captain Ernest James - Chevalier, Legion of Honour (France) - awarded as per London Gazette dated 30 November 1918". Archived from the original on 2012-03-31. Retrieved 2011-09-15.
  4. ^ "Merrill Samuel Taylor's Attestation Paper". www.theaerodrome.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  5. ^ Above the Trenches, p. 359.
  6. ^ "Merrill Samuel Taylor's Attestation Paper". www.theaerodrome.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  7. ^ "SALTER, Captain Ernest James - Chevalier, Legion of Honour (France) - awarded as per London Gazette dated 30 November 1918". Archived from the original on 2012-03-31. Retrieved 2011-09-15.
  8. ^ Above the Trenches, p. 359.
  9. ^ "SALTER, Captain Ernest James - Chevalier, Legion of Honour (France) - awarded as per London Gazette dated 30 November 1918". Archived from the original on 2012-03-31. Retrieved 2011-09-15.
  10. ^ Above the Trenches, p. 359.
  11. ^ Above the Trenches, pp. 236, 359.
  12. ^ Above the Trenches, p. 359.
  13. ^ Fokker Dr.I Aces, pp. 46–48.
  14. ^ Above the Trenches, p. 359.
  15. ^ Above the Trenches, p. 359.
  16. ^ Above the Trenches, p. 359.
  17. ^ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Taylor&GSfn=Merrill&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=15752480&df=all& Retrieved 11 February 2012. [user-generated source]
  18. ^ "Lieutenant Merrill Samuel Taylor :: CGWP Record Detail". www.canadiangreatwarproject.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.[title missing]

References

[edit]
  • Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920. Christopher F. Shores, Norman Franks, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1990. ISBN 978-0-948817-19-9.
  • Fokker Dr I Aces of World War I: Volume 40 of Osprey Aircraft of the Aces. Norman Franks, Greg VanWyngarden. Osprey Publishing, 2001. ISBN 978-1-84176-223-4.
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