EYEWITNESS
A coal mining lad’s harrowing memories of the 1914-1918 conflict
W hile retreating from the German advance in March 1918, No.18854 Lance Corporal George Taylor of the 6th Battalion Somerset Light Infantry came upon a hastily abandoned officers' mess. Having helped himself to some essential supplies, he saw German cavalry approaching. Nearby George noticed a Lewis Gun, loaded a magazine and fired at the advancing Germans until the ammunition ran out. He then destroyed the gun and escaped. For this gallant action he was awarded the Military Medal.
It was 60 years after the end of the Great War when George Taylor's daughter Jean Brock tape-recorded some of his many, sharp and clear recollections of life in the trenches.
A carting boy
George Henry Taylor was born on August 13, 1898 in the small town of Midsomer Norton, southwest of Bath, England. After leaving school at the age of 13, he went to work in a local coal mine as a ‘carting boy’; this involved crawling through narrow passages, dragging a cart of coal by means of a chain around his waist.
A few years later and desperate to avoid a police investigation after a cycling accident involving a friend, George decided to quickly join the army…
