Captain Saint Cyprian Churchill Tayler 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....

was an English World War I flying ace

Flying ace

A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...

 credited with ten aerial victories. He scored those victories while flying two tours of combat for two different squadrons; he used three makes of aircraft in the process.

Early life

Saint Cyprian Churchill Tayler was born on 26 February 1896. His parents were John Frederic Jenner and Minnie Ruth Tayler. Although born in Winchester, England, the younger Tayler enlisted in Natal

Natal, South Africa

Natal is a region in South Africa. It stretches between the Indian Ocean in the south and east, the Drakensberg in the west, and the Lebombo Mountains in the north. The main cities are Pietermaritzburg and Durban...

, South Africa; his home of record was The Haven on Boshoffs Road.

World War I

15 August 1916 Cadet

Cadet

A cadet is a trainee to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. The term comes from the term "cadet" for younger sons of a noble family.- Military context :...

 Tayler was commissioned as a second lieutenant

Second Lieutenant

Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...

 on probation in the Royal Sussex Regiment

Royal Sussex Regiment

The Royal Sussex Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed as part of the Childers reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th Regiment of Foot and the 107th Regiment of Foot...

. On 6 February 1917 he was appointed as a second lieutenant and transferred to the General List of 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...

.

On 14 May 1917, he scored his first aerial victory while flying in Arthur Coningham

Arthur Coningham (RAF officer)

Air Marshal Sir Arthur "Mary" Coningham KCB, KBE, DSO, MC, DFC, AFC, RAF was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. During the First World War, he was at Gallipoli with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, where he became a flying ace...

's flight. After scoring twice more, Pilot Officer

Pilot Officer

Pilot officer is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks immediately below flying officer...

 Tayler was appointed as a Flight Commander on 13 July 1917, with an accompanying promotion to temporary Captain. A report of his being wounded in action

Wounded in action

Wounded in action describes soldiers who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during war time, but have not been killed. Typically it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing to fight....

 on 31 July was published on 16 August 1917.

His exploits earned him a Military Cross, awarded 27 September 1917. It was gazetted on 9 January 1918:
In late 1917, Tayler was transferred to a new squadron that was forming, No. 80 Squadron. He returned to combat with them in January 1918; he would score his last three victories for them.

On 17 March 1918, Tayler was killed in combat with Heinrich Kroll

Heinrich Kroll

Oberleutnant Henrich Claudius Kroll Pour le Merite, Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Saxony's Albert Order Knight Second Class with Swords, Iron Cross First and Second Class, was a World War I fighter ace credited with 33 victories.-Early life:Kroll was born in the village...

. Saint Cyprian Churchill Tayler is buried in an unidentified plot in Faubourg-d'Amiens Cemetery. He is also memorialized on the Arras Flying Services Memorial.

List of aerial victories

See also Aerial victory standards of World War I

Aerial victory standards of World War I

During World War I, the national air services involved developed their own methods of assessing and assigning credit for aerial victories.The victory scores of the pilots represented at List of World War I flying aces often cannot be definitive, but are based on itemized lists that are the best...

No.	Date/time	Aircraft	Foe	Result	Location	Notes
1	23 January 1917 @ 1515 hours	Airco DH.2 Airco DH.2 |-DH.2 aces:Distinguished pilots of the DH.2 included Victoria Cross winner Lanoe Hawker , who was the first commander of No 24 Squadron and ace Alan Wilkinson. The commander of No. 32 Squadron, Lionel Rees won the Victoria Cross flying the D.H.2 for single handedly attacking a formation of 10...	German reconnaissance plane	Set afire; destroyed	Ervillers Ervillers Ervillers is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming village situated south of Arras at the junction of the N17, D36 and D9 roads.-History:...	Victory shared with Frank Billinge Frank Billinge Captain Frank Billinge was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories.Billinge was a founding member of No. 20 Squadron, flying as an observer/gunner in the rear seat of a FE.2b. He scored his first victory there, on 13 February 1916. He was transferred back to Home Establishment... , Arthur Randall Arthur Randall Captain Arthur Clunie Randall was a World War I flying ace credited with 10 aerial victories. After earning a Distinguished Flying Cross during the war, he remained in military service until 1926.-Early life:... , Arthur Coningham Arthur Coningham (RAF officer) Air Marshal Sir Arthur "Mary" Coningham KCB, KBE, DSO, MC, DFC, AFC, RAF was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. During the First World War, he was at Gallipoli with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, where he became a flying ace... , three other pilots
2	14 May 1917 @ 1030 hours	Airco DH.5 Airco DH.5 -Bibliography:* Bruce, J.M. Warplanes of the First World War, Vol. 1. London: MacDonald, 1965, pp. 128–132.* Jackson, A.J. De Havilland Aircraft since 1915. London: Putnam, 1962....  serial number A4800	Albatros D.III Albatros D.III The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service and the Austro-Hungarian Air Service during World War I. The D.III was flown by many top German aces, including Manfred von Richthofen, Ernst Udet, Erich Löwenhardt, Kurt Wolff, and Karl Emil Schäfer...	Destroyed	Southeast of Baralle Baralle Baralle is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming village located 15 miles southeast of Arras at the junction of the D14, D16 and D19 roads. The entire commune was obliterated during World War I.-Population:-Places of interest:*...
3	11 July 1917 @ 0915 hours	Airco DH.5 s/n A9385	Albatros D.III	Driven down out of control	Hooge, Belgium Hooge, Belgium Hooge is a small village in Flanders in Belgium. During the First World War it was the site of intensive fighting.-History:During the First World War Hooge was the site of a château which was used as the Divisional Headquarters for the area...
4	12 July 1917 @ 0955 hours	Airco DH.5 s/n A9185	Albatros D.III	Driven down out of control	Polygon Wood
5	27 July 1917 @ 1445 hours	Airco DH.5 s/n A9213	German reconnaissance plane	Destroyed	Geluvelt	Victory shared with three other pilots
6	28 July 1917 @ 0530 hours	Airco DH.5 s/n A9213	Albatros reconnaissance plane	Destroyed	Pilkem	Victory shared with three other pilots
7	29 July 1917 @ 0800 hours	Airco DH.5 s/n A9213	AGO C.II AGO C.II -See also:...	Captured	Langemarck	Victory shared with three other pilots
8	10 March 1918	Sopwith Camel Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter introduced on the Western Front in 1917. Manufactured by Sopwith Aviation Company, it had a short-coupled fuselage, heavy, powerful rotary engine, and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. Though difficult...	Albatros D.V Albatros D.V |-See also:-Bibliography:*Bennett, Leon. Gunning for the Red Baron. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 2006. ISBN 1-58544-507-X....	Destroyed	Bohain-en-Vermandois Bohain-en-Vermandois Bohain-en-Vermandois is a commune in the department of Aisne in Picardy in northern France.It is the place where the painter Henri Matisse grew up.-History:... -Ribemont Ribemont Ribemont is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.-Population:...
9	10 March 1918	Sopwith Camel	Albatros D.V	Driven down out of control	Bohain-Ribemont
10	13 March 1918	Sopwith Camel	Albatros D.V	Destroyed

Reference

• Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915-1920 Christopher F. Shores, Norman L. R. Franks, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1990. ISBN 0948817194, 9780948817199.

Endnotes

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