Lieutenant Herbert Taylor, 7th RTR , MC and Bar 1940-41

I am trying to find out more about this officer and the locations in which his MC actions took place. The citations were published in our school magazine 'The Clavian' in 1940 and 1941. I know that the Bar was gazetted on 9th May 1941. He became Major Taylor, and in the November 1942 magazine he is reported as a POW in Italy. Any help would as always be much appreciated. I am currently in the early stages of organising a visit to Bovington Tank Museum next year and it would be good if we could arrange to see examples of the vehicles he commanded in NW Europe and the Desert.
Second Lieutenant Herbert Tavlor, M.C., Royal Tank Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps (Supplementary Reserve), on his being awarded the Military Cross “for conspicuous bravery, courage and resource on numerous occasions in the command of his light tank section. On numerous occasions Second Lieutenant Taylor was dispatched to collect information on the enemy’s movements with his light tank section. By his devotion to duty on these occasions and by conspicuous gallantry while under enemy fire, he supplied valuable information to the battalion commander

To Lieutenant Herbert Taylor, M.C., Royal Tank Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps, on being awarded a Bar to his M.C. The official notification of this award reads as follows :— “This officer led the troops under his command with the utmost courage and skill throughout the operations. He led his troops in an attack on a battery of field guns enclosed by a stone wall and covered by a neighbouring battery of coast defence guns. Both these batteries were captured without loss to the supporting infantry in the face of intense fire. The qualities of leadership displayed by Second Lieutenant Taylor in this action were conspicuous.”

 

Rochdale Observer, Wednesday, July 2, 1941

Also

I would assume this is him in the Casualty lists:
Casualty List No 552 Dated 30 June 1941
Western Desert Missing
78782 WS/Lieut H Taylor MC, RTR 19.6.41

Casualty List No 869 Dated 7 July 1942
Western Desert Missing
78782 T/Maj H Taylor MC, 7 RTR 20.6.42

Casualty List No 898 Dated 10 August 1942
POW, previously reported missing
78782 T/Maj H Taylor MC, 7 RTR

Casualty List No 1797 Dated 2 July 1945
Previously reported POW now not POW
78782 T/Maj H Taylor MC, 7 RTR

 

I only have the 7 RTR war diary for September-December 1940. He's mentioned in it as a squadron leader of light tanks, but no recommendation for the bar to his MC is listed.

You can get the citation report directly from the National Archives by paying L3.50 (sorry, I'm Canadian, and I don't have a pound symbol on my keyboard). I looked through and found his desert campaign citation here: Recommendation for Award for Taylor, Herbert Rank: Second Lieutenant ... | The National Archives

You can also look for the collected PDF of all awards for the relevant theatre and time period and search through it for his record, and that would be free. Given that his citation report is filed as WO 373/17/227 I think this would be the correct PDF (WO 373/17): 30 July 1940-16 Sept 1941 | The National Archives

 

The History of the 4th and 7th Royal Tank Regiments
Home Page

 

Thanks-I have looked at the excellent History of 4th and 7th webpage. Herbert Taylor's MC Bar is mentioned and by implication he must have won his original MC in the Arras counter-attack. I am planning to cover the 1940 fighting at Arras on a future school Battlefields Tour and will try to identify the exact location of his MC action for this.

 

Always worth searching this forum!
7th Royal Tank Regiment

 

The date coincides with the assault on Bardia - well, the first and second day.