Patrick Gordon Taylor
Encyclopedia
Sir Patrick Gordon Taylor GC
MC
OBE
(21 October 1896 – 15 December 1966) was an Australia
n aviator
and author
. He was born at Mosman, Sydney
, and died in Honolulu.
Taylor attended The Armidale School
in northern New South Wales
. At the beginning of the First World War
he applied to join the Australian Flying Corps but was rejected. He subsequently went to Britain
and was commissioned into the Royal Flying Corps
in 1916, joining No. 66 Squadron. He was awarded the Military Cross
in 1917 and promoted to Captain, also serving with Nos. 94 and 88 Squadrons.
Following the war he returned to Australia and embarked on a career in civil aviation
, working as a private pilot and for de Havilland Aircraft Company
in the 1920s. He flew as a captain with Australian National Airways
1930-1931. He also completed an engineering course and studied aerial navigation. He served as second pilot or navigator on pioneering flights with Charles Kingsford Smith
, Charles Ulm
and others. In 1943 he was commissioned flying officer in the Royal Australian Air Force
, transferring to Royal Air Force
in 1944.
During the 1935 Australia-New Zealand airmail flight with Charles Kingsford Smith
, the starboard engine failed and the crew decided to return to Sydney, where the aircraft was buffeted by strong winds. It was decided that fuel and cargo must be jettisoned. During these conditions, Taylor made six journeys outside the cabin onto the wing in an effort to drain the oil from the useless motor and transfer this to the overheating port motor. Taylor's actions, with the addition of Smith's flying skills, resulted in the plane making its way back to land safely. Taylor was later awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal
for his actions, which was later exchanged for the George Cross
.
Taylor was knighted
in 1954.
George Cross
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(21 October 1896 – 15 December 1966) was an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n aviator
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He was born at Mosman, Sydney
Mosman, New South Wales
Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Mosman.-Localities:In February...
, and died in Honolulu.
Taylor attended The Armidale School
The Armidale School
The Armidale School is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, located in Armidale, on the New England Tablelands of northern New South Wales, Australia...
in northern New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. At the beginning of the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he applied to join the Australian Flying Corps but was rejected. He subsequently went to Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
and was commissioned into the Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
in 1916, joining No. 66 Squadron. He was awarded the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
in 1917 and promoted to Captain, also serving with Nos. 94 and 88 Squadrons.
Following the war he returned to Australia and embarked on a career in civil aviation
Civil aviation
Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military aviation, both private and commercial. Most of the countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and work together to establish common standards and recommended practices...
, working as a private pilot and for de Havilland Aircraft Company
De Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 when Airco, of which Geoffrey de Havilland had been chief designer, was sold to BSA by the owner George Holt Thomas. De Havilland then set up a company under his name in September of that year at Stag Lane...
in the 1920s. He flew as a captain with Australian National Airways
Australian National Airways (1930)
Australian National Airways was a short-lived Australian airline, founded in 1929 by Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm.The airline began operations in January 1930 with five Avro 618 Tens, similar aircraft to Kingsford Smith's famous Southern Cross...
1930-1931. He also completed an engineering course and studied aerial navigation. He served as second pilot or navigator on pioneering flights with Charles Kingsford Smith
Charles Kingsford Smith
Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith MC, AFC , often called by his nickname Smithy, was an early Australian aviator. In 1928, he earned global fame when he made the first trans-Pacific flight from the United States to Australia...
, Charles Ulm
Charles Ulm
Charles Thomas Philippe Ulm AFC was a pioneer Australian aviator.-World War I:Ulm joined the AIF in September 1914, lying about his name and age to get in. He fought and was wounded at Gallipoli in 1915, and on the Western Front in 1918.Charles Ulm was married twice. In 1919 he married Isabel...
and others. In 1943 he was commissioned flying officer in the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
, transferring to Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
in 1944.
During the 1935 Australia-New Zealand airmail flight with Charles Kingsford Smith
Charles Kingsford Smith
Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith MC, AFC , often called by his nickname Smithy, was an early Australian aviator. In 1928, he earned global fame when he made the first trans-Pacific flight from the United States to Australia...
, the starboard engine failed and the crew decided to return to Sydney, where the aircraft was buffeted by strong winds. It was decided that fuel and cargo must be jettisoned. During these conditions, Taylor made six journeys outside the cabin onto the wing in an effort to drain the oil from the useless motor and transfer this to the overheating port motor. Taylor's actions, with the addition of Smith's flying skills, resulted in the plane making its way back to land safely. Taylor was later awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal
Empire Gallantry Medal
The Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Gallantry, usually known as the Empire Gallantry Medal , was a British medal awarded for acts of the highest civilian gallantry . King George V introduced it on 29 December 1922...
for his actions, which was later exchanged for the George Cross
George Cross
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
.
Taylor was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in 1954.
Pioneering flights
- 1933 – second pilot and navigator with Charles Kingsford Smith’s first commercial flight across the Tasman SeaTasman SeaThe Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately across. It extends 2,800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European...
from Australia to New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and back. - 1933 – navigator with Charles Ulm – Australia-England-Australia.
- 1934 – with Charles Kingsford Smith – first Australia-USA flight, via FijiFijiFiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
and HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. - 1935 – navigator with Charles Kingsford Smith – Australia-New Zealand, flight aborted but returned safely after Taylor heroically, and six times, climbed along connecting strut to transfer oil from a disabled engine to the operating one – Taylor consequently awarded Empire Gallantry MedalEmpire Gallantry MedalThe Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Gallantry, usually known as the Empire Gallantry Medal , was a British medal awarded for acts of the highest civilian gallantry . King George V introduced it on 29 December 1922...
(1937). - 1939 – navigator with Richard ArchboldRichard ArchboldRichard Archbold was an American zoologist and philanthropist. He was independently wealthy, being the grandson of the capitalist John Dustin Archbold. He was educated at private schools and later attended classes at Columbia University though he never graduated...
on first flight across Indian OceanIndian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
– Australia-KenyaKenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. - 1944 – commander of survey flight BermudaBermudaBermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
-Australia via MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Clipperton IslandClipperton IslandClipperton Island is an uninhabited nine-square-kilometre coral atoll in the eastern Pacific Ocean, southwest of Mexico and west of Central America, at...
and New Zealand. - 1951 – South Pacific flight, Australia-ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
via TahitiTahitiTahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
and Easter IslandEaster IslandEaster Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people...
, Taylor consequently awarded the Oswald Watt Gold MedalOswald Watt Gold MedalThe Oswald Watt Gold Medal is an Australian aviation award named for Oswald Watt a decorated pilot in World War I.It originated in 1921 after the death of Oswald Watt and is awarded for "A most brilliant performance in the air or the most notable contribution to aviation by an Australian or in...
.