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Bdr. Joseph Taylor
British Army 60th Bde, B. Bty Royal Field Artillery
from:Bretherton
(d.7th Dec 1916)
Before the war Joseph Taylor was an agricultural farm labourer in rural Bretherton Lancashire. He moved into the local cotton mill as a cotton weaver by 1911 and I assume like many others, eagerly enlisted into Kitcherner's New Armies in 1914 for the 'great adventure' which as we know became the slaughter and carnage of Northern France. Being an ex-farmer and having worked hard and tirelessly with horses in the fields of Bretherton, it must have been a fitting position for him with the RFA.
A transcription from the war diary of the 60th brigade RFA which covers the date of Joe Taylor's death has the entry for the 7th December 1916 and reads:- Registration and intermittent bombardment night and day of enemy communications. Direct hit by 5.9 on No 5 gun B/60 1 killed 5 wounded. This is the only other piece of information I have relating to his death.
It was a very moving experience to visit the Somme and finally find his grave at the Hamel Military Cemetery in France.
