John Taylor : Teenager at War

1940: From Boyhood to Manhood

John Taylor was the eldest son of John Taylor and May Cawdery.  He was born in Salford on 7 March 1926, not the most auspicious time and place-- since it meant a boyhood blighted by the Great Depression and the shadow of war. [1]

John lived at 23 West Brownbill Street in Salford. The centre of his world was the intersection of Cross Lane, Regent Road, Trafford Road and Eccles New Road.  During his youth, his only foray away from home was to the Salford Children's Holiday Camp at Prestatyn, Wales (now sadly under threat of closure). Like many of his contemporaries, his childhood ended in 1940 at the age of fourteen. Upon leaving school, he went to work as a deckhand on the tugboats, which guided wartime shipping along the Manchester Ship Canal. Occasionally, his boat was dispatched into the Irish Sea to tow a damaged liberty ship into port. [2]

Tugboat maneuvering a liberty ship into No. 9 Dock, Salford

Liberty ships carried essential supplies from the United States to a beleaguered Britain. Their crews took pity on young John, generously giving him records of popular big bands, the odd article of clothing and items of food (e.g. oranges, which were extremely scarce). Eventually, his association with things American earned him the nickname, 'Yank Taylor'.

Tugboat at Barton.

Influenced by his own work and his father's career at sea, John joined what was then called the Navy League Sea Cadet Corps.  The photograph below shows John and his fellow cadets of the Manchester and Salford Unit on parade at Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester during 1940. [3]

Piccadilly Gardens: Lewis's is located at the top of the photograph.

Sea Cadet John Taylor at 14 years old

On the 25 November 1941, John was promoted to Warrant Officer.

The embossed logo on the front of his certification reads "Navy League - Keep Watch".  The certificate is signed by Admiral Sir Sydney Robert Fremantle.

John remained on the tugboats until his 19th birthday, when, on 9 April 1945, he joined the Coldstream Guards. Unfortunately, his service was cut short when he contracted rheumatic fever, causing damage to his heart (mitral stenosis). He was released on disability on 14 February 1946 after 321 days service, but by that time the war was over..

Guardsman John Taylor

Guardsman John Taylor seated far left
To enlarge: right click on images, open in new window and click on image.

shoulder patches

well-polished cap star

                              

His discharge booklet can be seen here .

John's Service Record and Pay Book can be seen here.

John's Certificate of Service can be seen here.

Notes

[1] The wretched conditions of Victorian Salford were described by Friedrich Engels (p.62) ; of Edwardian Salford by Robert Roberts ; of Depression Era Salford by Walter Greenwood.
[2] On one particular mission, a liberty ship was being blown by gale-force winds, causing the tug to be pulled over (girting). John remembered the tug master shouting "nobody abandons this tug until the funnel touches the water"!
[3] The parade ground is shown before it was bombed in December 1940 during the Manchester Blitz. See photo (left foreground).