TAYLOR, Melvin
NAME TAYLOR Melvin RANK Private 4215
UNIT 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion "out of the clouds" 6th Airborne Division - 3rd Parachute Brigade
Born February 22, 1915 - Kippen - Tuckersmith Township - County of Huron - Ontario Residence Hensall - Ontario Died March 24, 1945 30 years 1 month
Cemetery Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery - Groesbeek - Gelderland - Netherlands
XXII C 5 Wife Mrs. Jean Taylor - Kippen - Ontario
Parents Mr. Richard and Mary Taylor- Kippen - Ontario Brothers Mr. Richard Taylor Jr and Mr.Edwin Taylor - Kippen - Ontario Mr.John Taylor- Seaforth - Ontario Private Sidney Taylor - kia overseas Sisters Mrs. Margaret Allen - Kippen - Ontario Mrs. Myrtle Young - Vancouver - British Columbia MissJean Taylor - Kippen - Ontario
Melvin was born on February 22, 1915. Melvin had completed his education up to the end of Grade 8 and left school at the age of 13. He had worked as a rock crusher and prior to his enlistment he was employed in farming. He enjoyed baseball, shooting and “hill billy” music. He had served in the active militia with the Middlesex and Huron Regiment in 1939. The family attended Kippen United Church.
Canada
In September of 1939, he enlisted into the Canadian Army, took his basic training and other required duties Originally he was assigned to the Infantry with the Royal Canadian Regiment on July 11,1940. Upon enlistment he stood 5'4" and he weighed 130 pounds. He had a dark complexion with grey eyes and brown hair. Between January 25 - February 7, 1941 he was granted furlough. On June 20th he was on transfer to Eastern Coastal Defence with the Anti-Aircraft Artillery based at Halifax - Nova Scotia. He then went to Bedford to the 106th Battery on September 8th. About a month later he received the rank of Lance Bombardier. In the spring of 1942 on March 16th he was posted to A 23 Coastal Defence and Anti Aircraft Artillery Advanced Training Centre - Eastern Passage & Camp Debert. Between April 5 - May 8 he was granted furlough. On January 4, 1943 he was attached to Royal Canadian Air Force Station Botwood - Newfoundland. He then received the rank of Bombardier on April 1st. Then on May 13th he was posted to the 103rd Coastal Battery positioned in 3 forts around St. John's and he was here until mid December when he went to No. 6 Depot in Nova Scotia with the rank of Gunner. Gunner Taylor went AWOL on January 7, 1944 for 5 days and received and forfeits 6 days of pay. On February 24th he transferred to No. 10 District Depot of the Canadian Artillery in Halifax. The next day he was Taken on Service with No. 10 District Depot Parachute Wing in Winnipeg - Manitoba. His next posting was to Camp Shilo with A35 Canadian Paratrooper Training Centre. He is now a Private. He qualifies as a Parachutist on April 5th and on the same day receives permission from his Commanding Officer to marry Miss Jean Irvine of Kippen - Ontario. He is granted embarkation leave between June 24 - July 2 and during this period he is married. In the summer of 1944
Overseas
On July 7th Gunner Taylor was Struck off Service of the Canadian Army in Canada and he embarked from Halifax and Canada and the next day was Taken on Strength with the Canadian Army Overseas. He embarked in the United Kingdom on July 19th. Three days later he is posted to No. 1 Para Training Company A week after this he proceeds to Airborne School at Carter Barracks - Bulford - Wiltshire. On August 27th he joined the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion.
In the field
Private Taylor made two jumps into enemy territory before the end of 1944. One jump was into France and the other into Belgium. On August 27th he embarked from the United Kingdom and jumped into France on August 29th. When that operation was over he embarked from France on September 7 arriving back in the United Kingdom on September 7th. Then on Christmas Day of 1944 he embarked from the United Kingdom and the next day jumped into Belgium. He was there for a period of time until February 22, 1945 when he left the Allied Expeditionary Force and returned to the United Kingdom the same day. The Allied armies were advancing toward the German border that was the River Rhine and the Allied parachute forces would take part in "Operation Varsity" and the Canadian objectives were to destroy numerous gun pits, fortified farms, the village of Bergerfurth and also to take the high ground south of the village which was a ridge called "Schnepfenberg. "C" Company would clear the north part of the woods near a road junction for Reese and Emmerich in Germany. "A" Compamy would advance through "C" Company and seize the houses in the drop zone. "B" Company would were to clear the south-west part of the woods and then secure the Canadian flank. The jump would take place on March 24th.
The drop zone was an area of 6 x 5 miles but the Canadian drop zone was 800 x 1,000 yards. By the time the para forces hit the ground there was only a few miles between them and the advancing Allied armies. The air armada for this upcoming operation would be made up of 10,000 aircraft which would include fighters, bombers, transport aircraft and gliders. Operation “Varsity” would have 14,000 men dropping from aircraft and all being on the ground in 10
minutes. The artillery bombardment was to begin 7 hours before the drop and this air armada for this
operation would be the largest in history.
The Canadians travelled all day March 20th and arrived at Hill Hall Transit Camp in East Anglia. During the day of March 23rd the Battalion went to the nearby airfield at Chipping Ongar to fit parachutes and stow everything aboard their assigned aircraft. They also they checked their equipment, their ammo, their grenades and small arms. At 2 am on March 24th the Canadians began to awaken after a tense and restless night. They had a big breakfast which would have to last them the whole day. They then climbed aboard the lorries and headed toward the airfield. The eastern sky was beginning to brighten and as the men looked for their aircraft all were in their own thoughts. The Canadians lifted off at 07:30 hours and were over the drop zone at 10:00 hours. Here they encountered heavy flak with several planes being shot down. After jumping the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion was caught in a three way crossfire from the west, north and a clump of trees in the middle of the drop zone and here they lost 67 men. The ground fire was so intense that many did not survive the drop to be able to fight. The drop took 6 minutes and it was right on the mark. Once on the ground they encountered heavy machine gun fire and sniper fire and this enemy fire accounted for the majority of the casualties. “C” Company jumped first being the first Canadian unit to enter Germany and their objectives were achieved in less than ½ hour. “A” Company achieved its objectives within 1 ½ hours with 70% strength and “B” Company achieved its objectives in 30 minutes. At some point and we do not know if it was during the jump or after he was on the ground Private Taylor was killed in action.
Private Taylor was laid to rest at Groesbeek, but before there were permanent headstones each grave was
marked with a cross and a young Dutch girl tended his grave daily until the permanent marker was in place.
In May 1945 both Private Taylor's wife and mother were awarded the Memorial Cross. During the month of January 1950 Mrs. Jean Taylor the wife of Private Taylor received the medals that were awarded to him and they were the 1939-45 Star, the France & Germany Star, the War Medal along with the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal plus clasp.
Private Taylor is honoured and remembered on the Hensall Cenotaph and on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial. As well his name is in the Books of Remembrance in the Centre Block on Parliament Hill and on the Memorial Plaque of Hensall United Church. He is Honoured and Remembered on the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion Memorial.
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