Kenneth Taylor

Recollections of service life onboard HMS Euryalus.

Joining the war effort

At the start of war Kenneth had just finished school and started work in a local shop in Broadstairs. To support the war effort Kenneth eventually joined the Auxiliary Fire Service as a messenger boy. Kenneth recalls how the conscription of his friends influenced his decision to volunteer for the Royal Marines: ‘All the other messenger boys had got called up when they was old enough and one or two had already decided that they would do their effort and I thought, well, I just will do the same as the rest of ‘em. ’

A royal mission

Following training at the Chatham Royal Marine Barracks, Kenneth was sent up to Scotland and posted onto a ship for sea-trials. Kenneth remembers the royal nature of one mission:

‘We went to Rosyth Dockyard, had a quick re-fit, small re-fit, there and then went round to Liverpool picked up the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester at Liverpool and escorted the SS Rimutaka out to Ceylon where the New Zealand and Australian Navy took over from us there.’

The surrender of Japan

For the main part of the war Kenneth served onboard the HMS Euryalus in the Pacific. The ship was just outside the coast of Japan when the first atom bomb was dropped on Japan:

'We was of the southeast coast of Japan at the time when the atom bombs dropped. That was put over the load-speaker in the night time or early morning rather, cos the first was one was, if I remember right, it was three minutes past eight in the morning and it was just put over by the captain here that an atom bomb had just been dropped on Japan .’

Kenneth recalls the reactions onboard the ship when the Japanese surrendered:

‘Everybody was glad it was all over. Everybody was looking then to see, you know, what their demob number was and how long it was going to be before we got to be placed onboard ship to get off a ship to get on to another one to come home. Everybody was looking forward to that then.'

Downloads

Interview with Kenneth Taylor. (199k)
To read the full transcript of Kenneth's interview please press the above link.

A royal mission (74k)
Transcript of audio clip with Kenneth Taylor.

A long distance proposal (71k)
Transcript of audio clip with Kenneth Taylor.

Returning home (71k)
Transcript of audio clip with Kenneth Taylor.