Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Hubert Lancelot Taylor was the third son of John William Taylor and Alice Maud Greenbury who resided at Upper Caboolture, Queensland. He was single, working as a labourer and living at Upper Caboolture at the time of his enlistment in December 1915. Hubert was killed in action whilst on tank duty with British Soldiers. Two older brothers, Ernest [No number] and Leslie Arthur [2168], also enlisted.

Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Taylor, of Everton Park, Enoggera, have received word from headquarters that their son, Sergeant Hubert Lancelot Taylor, of the 42nd Battalion, was killed in action on the 12th August, 1918 ; previously reported wounded and missing.

 
TAYLOR  Hubert Lancelot  #955  42nd Battalion
 
Bert Taylor was born at Morayfield and probably attended school there along with his elder brother Leslie. Bert enlisted at Brisbane on 20th December 1915 at the age of 19 and went into camp at Thompson’s Paddock, Enoggera. He gave his address as Caboolture and occupation as labourer. Bert was allocated to the newly raised 42nd Battalion and embarked from Brisbane on 5th June 1916, having allotted 3/- of his daily pay to his mother.
 
Upon arrival in Southampton on 23rd July, the men of the 42nd marched into Larkhill Camp where the 3rdDivision AIF was being assembled under the command of Maj. Gen. John Monash. The 3rd Division was kept out of the fighting on the Somme during 1916 and did not arrive on the western front until November, being based around Warneton and Ploegsteert on the French Belgian Border.
 
The first major offensive of 1917 was directed at the Ypres Salient. A series of battles were planned to move the front forward from the outskirts of Ypres towards the villages of Broodseinde, Zonnebeke and Passchendaele. Before this could occur, the enemy had to be removed from the ridge which looked over the proposed battleground. This ridge to the south of Ypres was dominated by heavy German defences and the village of Messines.
 
The battle of Messines began on the 7th June 1917 with the firing of 19 mines which had been placed under the German defences by tunnellers. As the smoke and dust cleared, the men of the 42nd Battalion, which now included Bert and his elder brother Leslie, moved forward under the artillery barrage. Bert would receive a minor wound to his neck on the first day and be evacuated to a Field Ambulance. His brother Leslie was also wounded three days later. His wounds were more serious and he was evacuated to hospital in England. Leslie was eventually discharged as medically unfit and returned to Australia in early 1918. He lived on a disability pension for the rest of his life.
 
Bert recovered quickly from his wound and was soon back with his battalion. On 2nd September he was promoted to Lance Corporal. Bert was involved in the attacks at Polygon Wood and Broodseinde in October. When the 42nd was withdrawn from the line for a well-earned rest, Bert was granted a furlough in England for two weeks. It is possible that during this time he met and formed a close bond with Miss Nellie Cooper of Scarborough, East Yorkshire as Miss Cooper would eventually send many letters to the authorities regarding Bert’s welfare.
 
When Bert returned to his battalion in Belgium, the division was in a rotation involving training, sports and recreation, a period of time in the line at Ploegsteert and best of all a few weeks in a rest camp on the French coast.
 
With the coming of spring in 1918, the German commander Ludendorff took advantage of a numerical superiority of troops to launch a surprise offensive against the British on the Somme. So successful was this offensive that in a few days the Germans had retaken all of the ground surrendered earlier in the war during 1916 and 1917; and were even threatening the vital communication hub of Amiens. In response, Haig ordered the 3rd and 4th Australian Divisions to be rushed south to hold up the German onslaught.
 
Two Brigades from the 3rd Division, including the 11th Brigade, were ordered to take up position astride the old Roman road in the vicinity of Villers Brettonneux. The village of Villers Bretonneux, just east of Amiens had strategic value as artillery positioned on the heights nearby could shell Amiens. The village needed to be held at all costs.
 
For the entire month of April, elements of the AIF were used to strengthen the line where German attacks were expected. The 42nd Battalion was heavily involved in the defence of Amiens and continued to harass the enemy once the advance had been halted.
 
On 4th July, Monash planned and executed a limited engagement at Hamel just north of Villers Brettoneux. Monash’s plan was to take a ridge line using a coordinated attack which used tanks, artillery, smoke, aircraft and deception. The plan was for the attack to reach the objective in 90 minutes. It in fact took 93 minutes and Monash’s fame as a brilliant tactical battlefield commander was assured.
 
After Hamel, the British Commander Haig charged Monash with planning a much bigger and bolder attack. Monash was given the entire Australian Corps of five divisions, the entire Canadian Corps as well as elements of Rawlinson’s 3rd Army, cavalry, tanks, aircraft and artillery. The Battle of Amiens was timed to begin on 8th August.
 
Monash, in conjunction with the British Tank Corps Commanders, had devised a number of tactics which took advantage of a tank’s limited but nevertheless formidable attributes. Some tanks became supply vehicles, carrying ammunition, fuel, food and water. On their return trip these same tanks evacuated wounded. The new Mark V tanks that were placed at Monash’s disposal were faster, more manoeuvrable and better armoured. He planned to use them in close cooperation with the infantry, targeting the tanks against specific targets and points of resistance. To achieve this, infantrymen were allocated to each tank as a liaison who could direct the tank commander to strong points and bunkers which had been signalled by the infantry.
 
Bert Taylor had been promoted to Sergeant in July and found himself assigned to a British Tank. Bert was to act as liaison between the tank crew and a company from his own battalion, the 42nd.  At some point during the advance on 8th August, the tank in which Bert was acting as an observer was hit, probably by an artillery shell. The tank was probably under heavy fire and it is understandable that there was a deal of confusion at the time as the crew scrambled for safety. The tank eventually caught fire and ammunition began to explode inside the vehicle.
 
The following day, a Sergeant Wilkinson from a tank corps salvage crew inspected the burnt-out tank. He located the badly burnt remains of a soldier who he assumed to be Corporal Rooms of the tank crew. All of the remaining members of the tank crew were accounted for and Wilkinson had no knowledge that an Australian sergeant had also been in the tank. The remains were removed from the tank and buried on the battlefield with a wooden cross listing Room’s name, regiment and number.  Of Bert Taylor, there was no apparent sign and Bert was listed as Missing by the Australian Divisional command.
 
The Battle of Amiens on 8th August 1918 would prove to be the defining engagement on that part of the western front which would ultimately bring about the collapse of the German forces 100 days later. With the declaration of the armistice, the AIF could begin to take stock of the situation. Many men like Bert had been declared missing and with hostilities ceased, the authorities could begin to trace them. A court of inquiry was convened by the 42nd to look into the fate of their missing in March 1919. Having consulted the lists of men still in hospital or returned POWs it was determined that Bert Taylor had been killed in action on 8th August 1918 and his resting place was at that time unknown.
 
Throughout 1919, Nellie Cooper of East Yorkshire continued to pursue enquiries through the Red Cross as to Bert’s fate. Miss E. McVicker of Traveston near Gympie also wrote to the authorities regarding Bert. As the final British casualty lists were being authenticated it was realised that there was an anomaly with the Tank Corps lists; Private Rooms whose remains had been buried in August 1918 was still alive and living in Lancashire. However the question now remained, who had been buried on the battlefield by the salvage crew sergeant? Copies of correspondence between the British and Australian authorities held in Bert’s file shed light on the efforts that were made to identify the soldier buried on 8th August. In August 1920, Bert’s father received a letter from the director of the Imperial War Graves Commission stating that the director had determined that the body recovered from the tank on the 8th August and subsequently buried on the battlefield was that of Sergeant Hubert Taylor. Bert’s remains were reinterred in Heath cemetery, Harbonnieres and a headstone bearing the correct details was provided.