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 ...

Saint Cyprian Churchill Tayler MC (26 February 1896 – 17 March 1918) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

credited with nine aerial victories. He scored those victories while flying for two different squadrons, using three types of aircraft.

Early life

Saint Cyprian Churchill Tayler was born in Winchester, England, on 26 February 1896 to John Frederic Jenner and Minnie Ruth Tayler. By the time of his death his widowed mother was living at "The Haven" on Boshoffs Road, Natal, South Africa.

World War I

Tayler attended the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

as a

cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

, before being commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the Royal Sussex Regiment on 16 August 1916. He was soon seconded to the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

, and after completing his flying training he was appointed a flying officer on 6 February 1917. Posted to No. 32 Squadron, he scored his first aerial victory on 14 May 1917 while flying an

Airco DH.2 The Airco DH.2 was a single-seat pusher biplane fighter aircraft which operated during the First World War. It was the second pusher design by aeronautical engineer Geoffrey de Havilland for Airco, based on his earlier DH.1 two-seater. The d ...

single-seat fighter in Arthur Coningham's flight. His squadron was re-equipped with the

Airco DH.5 The Airco DH.5 was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft. It was designed and manufactured at British aviation company Airco. Development was led by aircraft designer Geoffrey de Havilland as a replacement for the obs ...

, in which he scored twice more in early July, before he was appointed a flight commander on 13 July 1917, with the acting rank of captain. He shared in three more victories before a report of his being wounded in action on 31 July was published on 16 August 1917. Tayler's exploits earned him the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

, awarded on 26 September 1917. The award was gazetted on 9 January 1918, his citation reading: :Second Lieutenant St. Cyprian Churchill Tayler, Royal Sussex Regiment and Royal Flying Corps. ::"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in leading offensive patrols against enemy aircraft. On five occasions at least he and his patrol have attacked and brought down hostile machines. These successes were almost entirely due to his very skilful piloting." In late 1917 Tayler was posted to the newly formed No. 80 Squadron, to fly the

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...

single-seat fighter. He returned to combat in France with them in January 1918, serving as commander of "C" Flight. He was promoted to lieutenant on 16 February 1918. Tayler gained his last three victories on 10 and 11 March. On 17 March 1918 he was shot down and killed in combat by Heinrich Kroll of ''

Jasta 24 Royal Saxon Jagdstaffel 24 was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. As one of the original German fighter squadrons, the unit would score 89 verified ae ...

''. Originally reported as missing, his death was not officially confirmed until 12 November 1919. Having no known grave he is commemorated at the

Arras Flying Services Memorial The Arras Flying Services Memorial Commonwealth War Graves Commission war memorial in the Faubourg d'Amiens Cemetery, Arras, France. The memorial commemorates nearly 1,000 airmen from forces of the Commonwealth who were killed on the Western Fr ...

List of aerial victories

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tayler, Saint Cyprian 1896 births 1918 deaths Military personnel from Winchester Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Royal Sussex Regiment officers Royal Flying Corps officers British World War I flying aces British military personnel killed in World War I Aviators killed by being shot down Recipients of the Military Cross