| Admitted to: POW. German Military Hospital, Amsterdam. Berlin POW Camp. Stalag VIII B. No.6 PRC RAF Cosford (09/04/45). |
Date of Injury: 01/06/1942 |
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| D.O.B/Age when admitted: 24 |
Cause of Incident: Enemy action. Hit by enemy flak in a Wellington on ops. Crashed into the sea. |
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| Transferred to QVH: 30/08/1945 |
Injuries: Shrapnel wounds to face. |
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| No. of Operations at East Grinstead: 8 |
IDENTITY CARD
This is to certify that the patient mentioned below and whose description is stated hereon is the authorised holder of this Identity card.
| Forename: Dennis |
Surname: Taylor |
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| Service No: 1034198 |
Nationality: British |
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| Awards/Honours: --- |
Patient Unit: No.4 MRU , RAF Cosford |
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| Profession: Observer |
Patient Rank: WO |
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| Death: 03/06/1995 |
Age at Death: 74yrs |
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| Dr Rank: |
Dr Unit: |
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Taylor was accepted into the RAF in January 1941, training as an observer, and he was posted to a Wellington squadron in December 1941.
On return from his third bombing run over Germany, his plane was shot down in flames off the Dutch coast. He, along with the rest of his crew, survived adrift on a dinghy for nine hours before being picked up by the Germans. Taylor received basic treatment for his shrapnel wounds, and was a prisoner of war for the next three years.
In January 1945, the Taylor was among the many that were forced to walk from the camps in Poland as Soviet forces pushed the Germans into retreat. In April, American troops liberated the camp Taylor was in north of Frankfurt, and Taylor returned to England.
Taylor left the RAF in 1947.
Taylor qualified as a member of the Goldfish Club, for those who came down in water, by escaping death via use of his emergency dinghy.
Known as "Tubby".
MRU - Military Rehabilitation Unit
PRC - Personnel Reception Centre
We've been looking through our collections, and discovered this 1972 photograph from the East Grinstead Observer, o…