3 war combination of medals comprising Cape of Good Hope General Service Medal with clasp BECHUANALAND, named PTE W.T. TAYLOR. KIMBERLEY RIFLES.; Queens South Africa Medal with 5 clasps, TUGELA HEIGHTS, RELIEF OF LADYSMITH, TRANSVAAL, LAINGS NEK, SOUTH AFRICA 1901, named 255 PTE W.T. TAYLOR.IMP.L.I.; British War Medal named CAPT W.T. TAYLOR. R.F.C. Swing mounted they come with copies of RFC service records, medal roll, MIC, London Gazette extract and research.

Captain William Thomas Taylor was born in 1877 and in 1896 was residing in South Africa in the Kimberly, no doubt working in the diamond fields. He served in the Bechuanaland Campaign with the Kimberly Rifles from 1896 – 1897.

On the outbreak of the Boer War, he was still residing in South Africa and enlisted on 11/11/1899 to serve with the Imperial Light Infantry until discharging on 5/9/1900.

He survived the fighting at Spion Kop in which the cost the unit some 2 officers and about 50 killed with 3 officers and 110 men wounded. The medal roll records further service with the Rand Rifles.

A qualified Hydro Electric Engineer he had worked in America, India and South America and he was working in Bolivia when the Great war broke out. He returned to England landing in Liverpool on the 31/5/1915 and was gazetted a 2nd Lieutenant on 30/9/1915 with the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment serving as a Company Commander with the 1/12th Battalion.

He was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps serving at Farnborough S.A.D.A. Park in September 1916 as an equipment officer being promoted to Temporary Captain 26/3/1918 and posted to the Air Ministry as a Staff Captain in June 1918 and to the unemployed list April 1919.

Based on his RFC/RAF records it would appear that he was home service only and not entitled to the Victory Medal as is shown in the Army MIC.