Royal Air Force
Frank Arthur Taylor was the son of Frank Arthur Taylor (a pattern maker) and his wife, Emma, who lived at 99 Melbourne Street, Gloucester. They had seven children, all of whom were surviving at the time of the 1911 Census. On the 1901 Census return Frank (junior) is recorded with the name Arthur, so presumably this was the name by which he was known. He was the fourth child, born in Gloucester in 1898.
According to his Service Record in the National Archives (AIR 79/1166/130166) he joined the Royal Flying Corps as an Air Mechanic (number 7698?) on 12 February 1918, having been an engineering pattern maker, as was his father. He transferred to the Royal Air Force (RAF) upon its formation on 1 April 1918. His record notes he was posted to ‘BTW’.
His stay in the RAF did not last long as he was discharged as ‘unfit for service’ on 5 June 1918 and was awarded a pension on discharge of 27 shillings and six pence for four weeks and sixteen shillings and six pence for a further 48 weeks. The reason for the discharge is not known.
He died on 6 November 1918 in Gloucester (a local newspaper entry states this was at the Royal Infirmary, Gloucester) but the cause of death is unknown. He was aged 19 (according to his headstone, although it may have been 20).
Air Mechanic Second Class Frank Arthur Taylor was buried in the World War One grave plot in Gloucester Old Cemetery, where a CWGC headstone marks his grave.
Researched by Graham Adams 28 March 2014