Lt Commdr W H (Horace) Taylor GC MBE

Horace Taylor was a distinguished Honorary Member of the MCA. After he died in 1999 The Independent published an obituary to this remarkable man:

Obituary: Horace Taylor
Independent, The (London), Feb 12, 1999 by Max Arthur

During one day of the Blitz in the autumn of 1940, 121 unexploded bombs had to be dealt with in London. It was also a rather nerve- racking day for Sub-Lieutenant Horace Taylor, who for his first job on bomb disposal was sent to defuse a 9ft- long mine weighing 2,000 kilos which had landed by the front gate of a large London hospital. It was a new type of mine and Taylor recalled: "We had little idea of how to handle them. There were no proper tools so we were working with ladies' hairpins, matchsticks, bent nails, a bicycle pump and the bulb of a motor horn."

First of all Taylor and his assistant, Able Seaman Ross, dug a foxhole 100 yards from the mine. Ross was to stay in the hole logging Taylor's instructions: if anything went wrong, at least some information could be passed to the Admiralty. Taylor then informed the rather anxious hospital authorities that if he managed to remove the small fuse he would blow his whistle and everyone could relax. But Taylor was anxious: "It was that little fuse that put the wind up us, because we knew that, if we started it, we'd have 17 seconds to clear out and how far can you run in 17 seconds? But I couldn't afford to be scared with 2,000 wounded soldiers from Dunkirk and God knows how many nurses relying on me. The responsibility was shattering."

He set to work with his bicycle pump, the motor horn and a bucket of water, putting enough pressure into the bulb of the horn to make the mine think it was 12 feet under water; this immobilised the fuse. He then began to work on removing the fuse. Expecting a booby-trap, when the unlocking ring was almost undone, he jammed a stick into the ground to prevent the fuse falling out. With by now everyone in the hospital watching, he tied a rope to the stick and walked nonchalantly off with the rope in his hand. "I wasn't scared, but just as I was about to get into my foxhole, there was a hell of an explosion. It wasn't the main fuse. I knew there wasn't any danger from the small fuse so I blew my whistle. But I hadn't realised what a stupid thing that was to do. A tidal wave of nurses came out after us. They wanted my tie, my shirt, I was nearly pulled apart. Such was the relief from the tension." After his second bomb disposing job, which was at RAF Uxbridge, Taylor was awarded a George Cross. Soon afterwards a bomb he was working on in Leamington Spa blew him through two houses. His clothes had been blasted off him but he was still conscious when found. Knowing what had gone wrong he insisted on telling his boss for the sake of the rest of the crew before being taken off to the local hospital, where he was put in the Ladies' Ward.

Horace Taylor was born in 1908 and educated at Manchester Grammar School where he developed an interest in the Scout movement and later became a Scout Commissioner of Central Division in 1937. He also joined the Civil Defence. When war broke out he volunteered for the Navy but was rejected. He wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Admiralty and told them "if they didn't do something very quickly, they were going to lose a good chap". The next day he received his commission. After a job which involved defending the third floor of the Admiralty with a .45 Webley he began to work on bomb disposal. In 1944 he became a frogman specialising in the clearance of harbour obstructions including those on the Normandy beaches on D-Day. After the war Taylor became a Travelling Commissioner for the Sea Scouts and from 1953 to 1973 was Field Commissioner for Southwest England; on his retirement he was appointed MBE. A modest and good-natured man with an undoubted presence and a fund of stories, he was quick to analyse a problem and to offer suggestions as to its solution. When I interviewed him three years ago, I asked what had kept him going. A devout Christian, he replied, "In all the operations we did, I never felt afraid. It was prayer that kept me going. Every morning at breakfast time I'd ask God to hold my hand steady and deal with the treacherous little fuse. Each time my arm was taken in a firm grip and I was in safe keeping." William Horace Taylor, naval officer, bomb disposal expert and scout: born Manchester 23 October 1908; GC 1941; MBE 1973; married 1946 Joan Skaife d'Ingerthorpe (died 1985; one son, three daughters); died Banchory, Aberdeenshire 16 January 1999.

NEW VHF SCHEDULES AND OTHER MSI ISSUES

Ref http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga-safety_information/mcga-weather/msi.htm

Sailors will be aware of the changes to the broadcasting, by the HMCG over VHF, of weather forecasts and other Marine Safety Information. Not surprisingly, with a major initiative such as this there will be and already are some teething problems. One such quickly came to light and was almost as quickly resolved, The forecast for Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath will be broadcast by Clyde MRCC as well as by Stornoway. Another is that the joint broadcast by Humber and Yarmouth was too long when there were many navigation warnings. They now broadcast separately, but at the same time
It would be most helpful if such problems were reported to the RYA/CYCC via Stuart Carruthers, Cruising Manager RYA,( stuart.carruthers@rya.org.uk). First, this is so, that we know the true scale of these problems. Secondly, it is so that we can liaise effectively with MCA and the HMCG in order to get such problems resolved as soon as possible.

Another initiative being pursued is the ready availability of relevant marine actual weather reports. A trial will start this Spring using NAVTEX 490 kHz from Niton to broadcast South coast actuals. If successful, and if sailors find these useful, it is intended to extend these broadcasts to Cullercoats and Portpatrick. Look out for notices regarding this trial and let us know if you think that data are useful. Without positive feedback, the broadcasts will not continue.

In parallel, the Met Office will soon be putting four pages of marine actuals on its website for quick and easy download. There will be one page each for the East, South and West coasts of Britain and one for open ocean buoy data to the west of the British Isles. All the data will be updated hourly..

There have been many reports from yachtsmen of NAVTEX reception problems around western Scotland (although none from commercial vessels). HMCG are seeking to alleviate these problems following the shortly to be introduced Faeroes NAVTEX station and an extra broadcast from Reykjavik. Once these are operational, it is planned to move the Portpatrick aerial further south. Then, between Malin Head, the new Portpatrick, Faeroes and Reykjavik it is hoped that reception in this area will be greatly improved.

However, I must emphasise that NAVTEX is designed for use from the fairway buoy out to about 200 to 250 NM out to sea, In harbour or within telephone contact of the land, there are many other sources of weather information.

Frank Singleton
RYA/CYCC MSI Sub Group
March 2007

Frank is talking to the MCA on Thursday 11 October 2007