James Frederick TAYLOR

Service Number: NZ422134
RNZAF Trade:
Date of Enlistment: 1942
Rank Achieved:
Flying Hours: Nil Known
Operational Sorties: Nil Known

Date of Birth: 29th of August 1923, at Botley, South Stoneham, Southampton, Hampshire, in England
Personal Details: Jim was the son of Reuben Eastwood Taylor and Nellie Taylor (nee Cook), of Matangi, Cambridge, and the younger brother of fellow Cambridge airman Jack Taylor.

Like Jack, Jim was born in England and came to New Zealand with his family at a very young age. He was educated at Matangi School, and then Hamilton Technical College. Following school Jim completed a sheetmetal apprenticeship with Hamilton Hardware. He then did a plumbing apprenticeship, before setting up a plumbing partnership, Taylor And Campbell.

Jim married Rae Isobel Newland, and they had five children, Stephen, Colin, Suzanne, Lorraine and Annette.

Service Details: Jim was a member of the mechanical ground staff, serving at RNZAF Station Woodbourne, before heading to the Pacific and serving at Guadalcanal and Boagainville.

Date of Death: 10th of April 2016, aged 92, at Brisbane, Australia
Ashes Scattered: Jim's son Colin intends to scatter Jim's ashes on his brother Jack Taylor's grave in Quetteville Communal Cemetery, France.

Connection with Cambridge: Jim and his family were from Matangi, on the northern side of the Cambridge district.

Thanks To: Colin Taylor, Jim's son, for helpimg with the details on his father's life and Air Force service, and for kindly supplying the photos

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