Harold McCarter Taylor, (13 May 1907 – 23 October 1995) was a New Zealand-born British

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

theoretical physicist Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experimen ...

and academic administrator, but is best known as a historian of architecture and the author, with his first wife Joan Taylor, née Sills, of the three volumes of ''Anglo-Saxon Architecture'', published between 1965 and 1978.

Life and career

Taylor was born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, son of a merchant, and graduated with an MSc from the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

, whence he continued in 1928 to

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. He worked with

Ernest Rutherford Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, (30 August 1871 – 19 October 1937) was a New Zealand physicist who came to be known as the father of nuclear physics. ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' considers him to be the greatest ...

at the

Cavendish Laboratory The Cavendish Laboratory is the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge, and is part of the School of Physical Sciences. The laboratory was opened in 1874 on the New Museums Site as a laboratory for experimental physics and is named ...

in Cambridge, received his PhD in 1933 and became a university lecturer and a Fellow of

Clare College Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

. While still in New Zealand he had been an officer in the

New Zealand Artillery The Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery is the artillery regiment of the New Zealand Army. It is effectively a military administrative corps, and can comprise multiple component regiments. This nomenclature stems from its heritage as an off ...

, and on 3 March 1934 he was commissioned as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the university

Officer Training Corps The Officers' Training Corps (OTC), more fully called the University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), are military leadership training units operated by the British Army. Their focus is to develop the leadership abilities of their members whilst ...

, commanding the artillery section. He was promoted local

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 10 March 1934, and received that rank on a substantive basis on 24 November 1935, and was promoted

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

on 1 May 1936. Following the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was transferred to the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

on 30 April 1941, rising to be Senior Instructor in Gunnery at the

Royal School of Artillery The Royal School of Artillery (RSA) is the principal training establishment for artillery warfare in the British Army. Established in 1915, it is located at Larkhill, Wiltshire, on the south edge of Salisbury Plain in the United Kingdom. The Scho ...

, with the rank of temporary lieutenant-colonel, and was awarded the

Efficiency Decoration The Efficiency Decoration, post-nominal letters TD for recipients serving in the Territorial Army of the United Kingdom or ED for those serving in the Auxiliary Military Forces, was instituted in 1930 for award to part-time officers after twe ...

(TD). He was awarded the Lefroy Medal of the Royal Artillery, the only non-regular recipient, for "furthering the science and application of artillery" His experience as a lecturer came in useful when he was a student on a staff course, and the instructor was having great difficulty explaining the difference between two types of gunsight, he offered to help the instructor explain (to the horror of the other students), and was then thanked by the instructor, "Thank you now we all know". He returned to part-time service after the war, and on his eventual retirement from the army in 1957, he was permitted to retain the honorary rank of lieutenant-colonel. After the war, Taylor was appointed university treasurer in Cambridge. He continued in academic administration as Principal of the University College of North Staffordshire in 1961. When, in 1962, the college became the

Keele University Keele University, officially known as the University of Keele, is a public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, Keele ...

, he became its first

vice-chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

and served until 1967. He was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the 1955

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

Taylor developed an interest in

Anglo-Saxon architecture Anglo-Saxon architecture was a period in the history of architecture in England from the mid-5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066. Anglo-Saxon secular buildings in Britain were generally simple, constructed mainly using timber with that ...

early in life. With his wife Joan, née Sills (1903–1965), whom he had married in 1933, he began a survey of more than 400 churches with some remnants of Anglo-Saxon architecture, culminating in the publication in 1965 of the first two volumes of their co-authored ''Anglo-Saxon Architecture''. Joan died a few weeks before publication. In 1966, Taylor married as his second wife his personal assistant Dorothy Judith Samuel (born 1931), who co-authored the third volume of his work. The archeologist

Philip Rahtz Philip Arthur Rahtz (11 March 1921 – 2 June 2011) was a British archaeologist. Rahtz was born in Bristol. After leaving Bristol Grammar School, he became an accountant before serving with the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. D ...

, with whom Taylor collaborated in the investigation of St Mary's Priory Church, Deerhurst, describes Taylor as a "devout Christian" and as "unfailingly elegant, witty, gracious and neat. Rahtz notes in his obituary of Taylor: "Although he wore old clothes in the field, they were always pressed and clean. We could never understand how they remained so, even when he was clambering on dirty roofs or in and out of trenches." Taylor was a Fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...

. In 1981, the Society awarded him and Charles Thomas the firs
Frend Medal
set up by the church historian and archaeologist

William Hugh Clifford Frend William Hugh Clifford Frend (11 January 1916 – 1 August 2005) was an English ecclesiastical historian, archaeologist, and Anglican priest. Academic career * Haileybury College (scholar) * Keble College, Oxford (scholar, BA first class in mo ...

, "for services to early Christian archaeology". He was appointed a member of the

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) was a government advisory body responsible for documenting buildings and monuments of archaeological, architectural and historical importance in England. It was established in 19 ...

on 1 January 1972. He died in

St Neots St NeotsPronunciation of the town name: Most commonly, but variations that ''saint'' is said as in most English non-georeferencing speech, the ''t'' is by a small minority of the British pronounced and higher traces of in the final syllable ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

, and his cremated remains were scattered in the Parish of the Ascension Burial Ground in Cambridge.

Notes

Bibliography

*Anon.,
Harold McCartet (sic!) Taylor, C.B.E., T.D., M.A., M.Sc., Ph.D.
, obituary at the website of the

(accessed 2 August 2008) * Rahtz, Philip
Harold Taylor
obituary, ''

British Archaeology The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) is an educational charity established in 1944 in the UK. It works to involve people in archaeology and to promote the appreciation and care of the historic environment for the benefit of present and futu ...

'', no 10, December 1995 (accessed 2 August 2008) *Waite, Greg,
Taylor, Harold McCarter (1907-1995)
, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Oct 2007 (accessed 2 August 2008)

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Harold Mccarter British physicists British art historians British Army personnel of World War II Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Royal Artillery officers Vice-Chancellors of Keele University Fellows of Clare College, Cambridge Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Scientists from Dunedin 1907 births 1995 deaths New Zealand Army officers University of Otago alumni People of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England New Zealand emigrants to the United Kingdom Presidents of the Royal Archaeological Institute