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John Cottew Taylor (1885-1916)


South Shields man served in the Royal Marines then as ship's corporal on HMS Defence at the Battle of Jutland


John Cottew Taylor was born in South Shields on 26 March 1885. His father was John Elijah Taylor (1856), a hatter by trade and originally from Chippenham, Wiltshire. His mother was Annie Taylor nee Cotten (1861) a seaman’s daughter from South Shields. It is possible that John’s middle name is actually “Cotten”, his mother’s maiden name, rather than “Cottew” as it appears in various military records.

At the time of the 1891 census, John’s family lived at 29 Howard Street, Tynemouth. John was the eldest child with a younger sister, Amy, and brother, Charles. At the 1901 census the three children were staying with an aunt from their father’s side of the family at 42 Lightburne Avenue, Lytham St Anne’s, Lancashire. John is recorded as being a bricklayer’s apprentice at this time.

John enlisted in the Royal Marines on 26 April 1904. The 1911 census shows him as a corporal in the Royal Marine Light Infantry (RMLI) living in the Royal Marine Barracks, Durnford Street, East Stonehouse, Devon. His service number in the RMLI was Ply/12779. He was discharged to ship’s corporal in the Royal Navy on 5 April 1915. He was planning to serve 12 years in the Navy. His Royal Navy service number was M16192.

John’s first Navy posting, as a probationary ship’s corporal, was to HMS Devonshire, an armoured cruiser of the Grand Fleet, where he spent two weeks. He then spent almost a month at HMS Vivid I the Navy barracks at Devonport, until on 14 May 1915, John joined the crew of HMS Defence, a Minotaur-class armoured cruiser, in the Grand Fleet. A ship’s corporal was effectively a naval policeman who assisted the master at arms to look after all disciplinary matters on board a ship and to put on charge men who transgressed rules and regulations. Because of their duties ship’s corporals were not universally popular with the crew of a ship. The Navy slang for a ship’s corporal was a “crusher” because, in trying to catch those bending the regulations, the ‘crusher’ would creep around the deck, his advance heralded by the crushing of cockroaches beneath his feet!

John spent just over one year on HMS Defence. She was participating in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916 when two salvoes detonated her rear magazine. This led to a fire that detonated her secondary magazines causing an explosion that led to the total loss of her crew of 903 men. John’s body was not recovered for burial. He is honoured on the Plymouth Naval Memorial.

John Cottew Taylor was awarded the Star, the Victory Medal and the British War Medal for his service in World War One.

Civil Parish: South Shields

Birth date: 26-Mar-1885

Death date: 31-May-1916

Armed force/civilian: Navy

Residence: 29 Howard Street, Tynemouth, Northumberland (1891 census)
42 Lightburne Avenue, Lytham St Anne’s, Lancashire (1901 census)
Royal Marine Barracks, Durnford Street, East Stonehouse, Devon, (1911 census)

Employment: Apprentice bricklayer (1910 census)
Royal Marine (1915 service record)

Family: Parents: John Elijah Taylor (1856), Annie Taylor nee Cotten (1861)
Siblings: Amy J Taylor (1887), Charles Preston Taylor (1889)

Military service:

Ply/12779
Corporal
Royal Marine Light Infantry
M12778
Ship's Corporal
Royal Navy
HMS Devonshire, 5 April 1915 to 19 April 1915
HMS Vivid I, 20 April 1915 to 13 May 1915
HMS Defence, 14 May 1915 to 31 May 1916

Medal(s): Star
Victory Medal
British War Medal

Memorial(s): Plymouth Naval Memorial

Gender: Male

Contributed by David D, Stanley, Co Durham