Sergeant Allan Douglass Taylor

Survivor of WW2

Date of Death:

Biography General Links Ranks Awards Chronology Print

Service Biography

Sergeant Allan Douglass Taylor was born on 8 October 1916 in Brooklyn, New York, and had lived in Canada since childhood. A Presbyterian and textile weaver living at 41 King Street in Huntingdon, Quebec, he enlisted at Montreal on 12 September 1939 and initially served with No. 9 Field Ambulance, Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps. He went overseas in May 1940 and later transferred to the Canadian Provost Corps, serving in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe, including France and Holland. His service included promotion through the non-commissioned ranks to Sergeant. In September 1943 he was hospitalized for septic tonsillitis and underwent a tonsillectomy before returning to duty. By the later war years his wife, Edith Taylor, was recorded as his next of kin in Montreal. Taylor's overseas service ended on 1 December 1945, and he was discharged at Montreal South on 15 January 1946 to return to civil life. After discharge he returned permanently to the United States, where he had obtained employment. Existing CWVMP research records his death on 22 December 1970 in Santa Clara County, California.

General Information

Ranks

Conflict Rank Regiment Branch Unit Company Date From Date To
WW2 Sergeant Canadian Provost Corps Army
Final rank/rating on discharge.
WW2 Acting Sergeant Canadian Provost Corps Army No. 4 District Depot
Acting Sergeant shown from return-to-Canada processing.
WW2 Private Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps Army No. 9 Field Ambulance
Initial rank.
WW2 Sergeant Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps Army 9 (Ninth) Field Ambulance.
WW2 Lance Corporal Canadian Provost Corps Army
Rank clearly documented; effective date requires final reconciliation.
WW2 Corporal Canadian Provost Corps Army
Rank clearly documented; effective date requires final reconciliation.

Awards

Conflict Award Action Date of Award Date of Citation Source
WW2 War Service Badge - General Service Class Awards card
WW2 Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp Awards card / discharge certificate
WW2 Defence Medal Awards card / discharge certificate
WW2 War Medal 1939-45 Awards card

Service Chronology

1916-10-08 — Born.
1939-09-12 — Attested/enlisted for active service.
1939-10-13 — Unit correspondence confirmed U.S. birth and residence in Canada since age three.
1940-01-08 — Specialist review of a previously doubtful chest X-ray concluded Taylor was fit for service; no medical category change required.
1940-05-10 — Struck off strength on transfer from RCAMC Training Centre to No. 9 Field Ambulance.
1940-05-13 — Overseas service period began.
1941-01-21 — Admitted to No. 9 Field Ambulance with influenza.
1941-09-01 — Taken on strength from Provost Company Depot.
1943-05-04 — Transferred/attached within Canadian Provost Corps service sequence.
1943-09-24 to 1943-10-02 — Hospitalized for septic tonsillitis; tonsillectomy performed 25 Sep; returned to duty 2 Oct.
1945-08-06 — X-ray of both feet for comparison showed slight metatarsus primus varus bilaterally; otherwise negative.
1945-10-26 — Entered repatriation/reinforcement processing prior to return to Canada.
1945-11-05 — Granted 10 days' leave with rations allowance.
1945-11-27 — Granted 6 days' leave with rations allowance.
1945-12-01 — Overseas service terminated.
1945-12-02 — Taken on strength No. 4 District Depot after return to Canada; acting Sergeant recorded.
1946-01-15 — Discharged to return to civil life on demobilization.
1946-01-19 — American Consulate requested confirmation whether Taylor had taken an oath of allegiance during Canadian Army service.
1946-01-25 — Wrote to Paymaster-General requesting War Service Gratuity arrangements because he intended to return to the United States, where he had obtained employment.
1946-01-25 — National Defence returned Taylor's wartime wills dated 15 Sep 1939 and 9 May 1940.
1946-02-04 — National Defence confirmed to the American Consulate that Taylor had signed the Canadian Army oath of allegiance on attestation, 12 Sep 1939.
1946-03-12 — Reported that he had returned permanently to the United States; requested future gratuity cheques at his Schenectady address.
1970-12-22 — Died.

Notes

American-born Canadian resident. Service-file correspondence states his parents were British and had lived in the United States for five years before moving to Canada; Taylor had lived in Canada since age three. Civilian occupation was textile weaver. At discharge he hoped to leave textile work and seek employment as an apprentice lineman or possibly policeman. As a U.S.-born citizen, his post-discharge status prompted correspondence with the American Consulate; National Defence confirmed that he had taken and signed the Canadian Army oath of allegiance when he enlisted. Two wartime wills, dated 15 Sep 1939 and 9 May 1940, were returned to him after discharge.

[Previous notes - manual reconciliation required]

Reported for duty on September 6. 1939
Born at Brooklyn. N.Y. on October 8, 1916
BIRTH 8 OCT 1916 • Brooklyn, Kings, New York DEATH 22 DEC 1970 • Santa Clara County, California
NOK Address Huntingdon in 1941
Word was received this week by Mrs. Allan Taylor, wife of Sgt. Allan D. Taylor, that he had been pro- moted to the rank of sergeant. Sgt. Taylor has been serving overseas since May, 1940, and joined for active service on Sept. 6, 1939, with the Field Ambulance Corp. He is now attached to the Canadian Army Provost Corp and was recently personal escort to Gen. Eisenhower.
ATIP Request confirmation number EA2026_0170892

Additional Service Notes

Enlisted at Montreal on 12 Sep 1939 with No. 9 Field Ambulance, RCAMC. Overseas service began 13 May 1940. He later transferred to the Canadian Provost Corps, serving in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe, including France and Holland. The service record documents advancement through lance corporal and corporal to sergeant; exact effective dates for some intermediate appointments are difficult to reconcile from the surviving statement-of-service entries. He served overseas until 1 Dec 1945, returned to Canada on 2 Dec 1945, and was discharged as a Sergeant on 15 Jan 1946 to return to civil life on demobilization.

Additional Next of Kin Notes

At enlistment Taylor was single and named his widowed mother, Mabel Taylor of 41 King Street, Huntingdon, Quebec, as next of kin. Later pay and dependent records distinguish two women: wife Edith Taylor and mother Mabel Elizabeth Taylor, both shown at 3484 Shuter Street, Montreal. The same records list Edith Taylor as next of kin and wife. This resolves the earlier ambiguity in the existing CWVMP text, which appears to have conflated wife and mother by naming the wife as Mabel. Taylor's father was deceased by 1939 and he had described himself as his mother's sole support, contributing $30 per month.

Version: 3 Last modified: 2026-09-20 03:07:40 by: marc