Able Seaman Joseph Thomas Taylor was born in 1914 and known to his family as 'Joey'. He was married to Elizabeth Taylor and was from Hackney in London.

Able seaman Taylor was stationed on the destroyer H.M.S. Wakeful.

H.M.S. Wakeful  was involved in the evacuation of troops of the British Expeditionary Force from Bray Dunes, Dunkirk after the German attack on Holland, Belgium and France. She had already made one successful run, carrying more than 630 troops to safety. She was torpedoed off the coast of Belgium, near Zeebrugge, on May 29th, 1940. As the exhausted and injured men slept below decks the ship was struck amidships by a torpedo from a German E-boat (S-30) and broke in two, sinking in just 15 seconds. Only 25 of the crew and one evacuee survived.

H.M.S. Wakeful is a maritime grave and the final resting place of 690 British soldiers and sailors.

H.M.S. Wakeful
(Picture courtesy www.navynews.co.uk)

Able seaman Taylor's body was recovered on the coast of Groningen and buried in Ulrum General Cemetery, Row 1st Class G/H. Grave 2.

Joseph Taylor's younger brother, Ordinary Seaman Percy Edward Taylor, or 'Eddy' as he was known as, was also stationed and lost on the H.M.S. Wakeful. Eddy remains missing and is commemorated at the Chatham Naval Memorial.

H.M.S. Wakeful photographed just hours before she was sunk

In 2003 the Belgian authorities considered moving the wreck to safer waters, as it was lying in a well used sea lane and obstructing traffic. Although in the end it was decided not to move it, to respect its status as a war grave, divers did do some preliminary work during which, among other things, the ship's nameplate was recovered. It was presented to the Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth.

 

Ulrum, The Netherlands

See also:
Ordinary seaman Percy Edward Taylor

Acknowledgements:
Kelan Ford and family

Sources:
Royal Navy website

Directions to Ulrum General Cemetery

If you have any suggestions, comments or additional information, please contact me.

This website is dedicated to the men and women who died and/or are buried in The Netherlands during World War II.

 

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