In memory of Richard and Herbert Taylor
Thomas and Elizabeth Taylor lost two sons in the space of four months during the Second World War. Thomas was a railway signalman based at Llandudno Junction. Elizabeth served in a shop in High Street before becoming a mother. The couple lived at Cadnant Cottage, near the bridge over the railway at the bottom end of Cadnant Park.
They had four children, all boys. Richard, pictured right, was their second. He served as a Petty Officer Stoker in the Royal Navy during the war.
In 1943 Richard was on HMS Beverley, a Destroyer transferred from the US Navy. It had been adopted by Merthyr Tydfil, in Glamorgan, after the townspeople raised a large amount of money during the 1942 “Warship Week” appeal.
HMS Beverley was tasked with protecting convoys of ships which carried vital supplies. During bad weather on 9 April 1932, it collided with one of the cargo ships in its convoy. The damage left it unable to perform its defensive duties. Two days later, it was torpedoed by a German submarine and sank near Iceland. Richard was among many who died. He was 41 years old. His body was never recovered. He is commemorated on the Royal Navy memorial in Portsmouth.
Herbert (left) was Thomas and Elizabeth’s youngest son. He enlisted in the Royal Air Force and was a Sergeant with 218 Squadron when he was lost in action on 24 August 1943. He was 25 years old. He too has no known grave. He is commemorated on the Air Forces Memorial in Runnymede, Surrey.
John, the eldest son, was a submariner in the Royal Navy and saw action on D-Day. Third son Thomas was a Flight Sergeant and served 27 years in the RAF.
With thanks to Sheila Clifford (granddaughter of Thomas and Elizabeth)
Return to Conwy war memorial page
