TAYLOR, Albert

Albert Taylor was the son of Phoebe Taylor of 59 Park Street, Lye, and attended Wollescote school. He was married to Eliza Maria (later Mobberley) of 92 Waste Bank, Wollescote. He was a pre-war regular soldier who was probably in the Reserve and called up to join his old Battalion, the 4th Worcesters, when they returned from India. They were among those sent to Gallipoli to capture the peninsula from the Turks. Although the initial landing was a success, the British forces failed to reach the crest of the main ridge and the campaign became a stalemate. Reinforcements arrived to assist with a new landing at Suvla Bay. At the same time the Worcesters led a major diversionary attack on the Turks at the village of Krithia on the 6th August. This was their third attempt to break through the Turkish defences at this point and it was another failure. Private Albert Taylor was one of over 700 casualties on this dire day, most of them killed in action. He was 31 years of age and is commemorated on the Helles, Lye and Wollescote, Lye church and Wollescote school Memorials.