Charles Taylor was the first Welsh International to be killed in action. An Engineer/Captain of the 1st Battle Cruiser Squadron, he was killed on HMS Tiger at the Battle of Dogger Bank on 24 January 1915 aged 51. In Memory of Engineer Captain C G TAYLOR M V O H.M.S. "Tiger.", Royal Navy who died on 24 January 1915 Husband of Mary Taylor, of Maysmead Place, Langford, Bristol. Remembered with honour TAVISTOCK NEW CEMETERY Born in Ruabon, Wales on 8 May 1863, Taylor joined the Royal Navy on 1 July 1885, when he was rated an acting assistant engineer. Following his initial training he was confirmed in the rank on 1 July 1886 He was promoted to engineer on 1 September 1890 and chief engineer on 30 December 1900 He became an engineer lieutenant on 26 March 1903, and on 30 December 1904 was promoted to engineer commander On 3 February 1911 King George V appointed him a Member of the Fourth Class of the Royal Victorian Order On 7 February 1912 he was promoted to engineer captain Much of Taylor's career was spent at training or other shore establishments. However, shortly after the outbreak of World War I he was posted to the battlecruiser HMS Queen Mary, on 16 September 1914. On 20 November he was transferred to HMS Tiger On 24 January 1915, Tiger was one of the vessels engaged in the Battle of Dogger Bank. HMS Tiger was struck by fire from the German cruiser SMS Blücher, and Taylor died during the engagement. Taylor was not buried at sea, and his body was returned to Britain to be buried at Tavistock New Cemetery in Devon Taylor made his debut for Wales against England in 1884 under the captaincy of Charlie Newman in the Home Nations Championship. Wales lost the game but Taylor would play in the remaining two games of the campiagn against Scotland and Ireland. In 1884 Taylor was reselected for Wales, in a team that would host several past and future captains, including Arthur Gould, Tom Clapp, Frank Hancock and Newman. In the 1885 Championship Taylor made his first international score when he converted William Stadden's try, though as no points were given to conversions at the time he is recorded with no career score. In 1885, Taylor was spending much of his time in London, and when a group of Welshmen came together to form a club for London 'exiles', Taylor was among them. The club formed in June 1885, and Taylor became an committee member at the first meeting and then on the 21 October became a member of the very first London Welsh team London Welsh would become a prominent club providing many Welsh internationals, the very first team containin six internationals; Taylor, Arthur Gould, Martyn Jordan, Thomas Judson, T. Williams and Rowley Thomas. In 1886, Taylor was part of Frank Hancock's team that experimented with the four threequarter system for the first time in an international match. It was an unsuccessful experiment and was abandoned during the match. Taylor's final game for Wales was in 1887 against Ireland in a win at Birkenhead.
Taylor, Charles Gerald played for Wales Internationals: 9 : 1884 E- S- I+ ; 1885 E- S= ; 1886 E- (1c) S- ; 1887 E= I- Charles Taylor was born in 1865 at Ruabon. Husband of Mary Taylor of Maysmead Place, Langford, Bristol. Played as a Back for: RNEC Keyham, RNC Greenwich, RN, London Welsh, Blackheath Profession: Royal Navy Remarks: Ex-football player and a noted athlete. Pole vault champion of Wales. War service: Engineer Captain in the battlecruiser HMS Tiger, based at Rosyth, Scotland. He was killed in action on 24 January 1915, during the Battle of Dogger Bank, and is buried in Tavistock New Cemetery, Devon, United Kingdom [FF. 229]. Along with HMS Lion, HMS Tiger engaged the German battlecruiser SMS Seydlitz and was hit by shellfire from German warships six times during the Battle. “The worst hit on Tiger was on a large compartment below the signal bridge, where the tripod mast met the superstructure, called ‘Rowton House’ by her crew. An 11-inch shell tore through the starboard aerial deck to explode inside the compartment. Boy Seaman Hayward: 'This was the station for the upper deck fire and repair party ... (who were all killed) ... Above ‘Rowton House’ on either extreme forward corner were mounted the port and starboard 6 inch gun control towers. The steel hatchway of the starboard one was closed, and all was well. But the port hatchway had been left open, and unfortunately the Engineer Captain of the Fleet had been standing by the open hatchway. He was responsible for the Engineering of the Battle Cruiser Squadron; he was acting as a spotting officer. He was killed instantly when a shell exploded.'"
