John Taylor
| Captain John Taylor | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
John Taylor June 3, 1896 Leyton, Essex, England |
| Died |
1981 Sydney, Australia |
| Joined CNCo service | 25th June 1920 |
| Left CNCo service | 30th January 1956 |
Contents
Biography
Service
John Taylor joined CNCo in June 1920 at the age of 24. He was promoted to Chief Officer eight months later in February 1921 and obtained his Master's certificate (No. 4018 in Hong Kong)
in May 1922 at just shy of 26 years of age. Taylor had to wait until July 1928 before a suitable vacancy arose and he was promoted to Master. There is no record within the CNCo archives of Captain Taylor's first command but in February 1929 he was master of the Siangtan operating on the upper reaches of the Yangtse and the Tungting Lakes.
Captain Taylor's final command prior to his retirement in January 1956, after 36 years of service with CNCo, was the Anking II. The "Anking" was five times the size of his earlier river commands and was employed on the Hadj service helping Malaysian pilgrims on their journey to Mecca.
Events / Stories
Captain Taylor had just been relieved as Master of the Kingyuan in Bombay on 14th April 1944 after more than a year in charge. Later that day an explosion aboard the SS Fort Stikine destroyed 19 merchant ships and the Kingyuan was gutted in the ensuing fire with the loss of two lives aboard. Captain Taylor was reportedly walking close by with a companion. Captain Taylor was uninjured but his companion was killed.
