Cpl John. Taylor Royal Marine

[Whitehorse]

I should be grateful if anyone could clarify a few points concerning a letter sent from Crimea in 1855 and published in a local paper. The letter dated 2 July 1855 was from Corporal John Taylor at Royal Marine Camp, Heights, Balaclava, to his family at Corsley, Wiltshire. He was born about 1821.
The letter states that on a recent parade he was called to the front and given a medal with a blue stripe with white edge together with £10 for “distinguishing service in the field.”

He was discharged from HMS Albion in early 1856 and sent to Woolwich. In 1861 he was a private (RM) on HMS Crocodile moored near the Tower of London. He married a Wiltshire woman the same year. In subsequent censuses he was variously described as: Greenwich/Naval Pensioner or Retired Custom House Officer.

My questions are:
The medal ribbon colours differ from the usual Crimean Medal - was this a separate medal from the Crimean medal?
I have not found in searches any mention of a £10 bounty - can anyone throw any light on this?
When serving on Crocodile his rank was ‘private’ - was he re-employed in a lower grade having earned a pension? He was in the marines when the 1841 census was taken.

[keith9351]

Could it be the Naval Long Service and Good Conduct Medal?

Eligibility

Any other rank, rating or marine who had completed fifteen years of reckonable service and who held three good conduct badges, became eligible to receive the medal. Since there were a number of offences which would normally preclude the award of the medal, awards were only made after a thorough check of a sailor's service record. The award of the medal required the recommendation of the individual's commanding officer and it could therefore only be awarded to serving personnel. Along with the medal, a recipient was paid a gratuity.

Keith

[Whitehorse]

Thank you Keith - you have nailed it. The colour or the medal as described by JT matches images of the NGC&LS medal online.

[Shtom22]

Hello,
Do you have any more information about John Taylor? (other than what is available on Ancestry). I am descended from his sister Sarah. Or could you point me in the right direction?
Thanks

[Whitehorse]

Hello - the letter was sent to his brother in law, not named. I have written and submitted an article for the Frome Soc for Local Study annual publication, it includes the letter and a biographical note on what I found. I don't know if it will be included in this year's edition of the booklet. I could send you a copy now if you are interested. I am not related to this man - I took an interest with a view to writing an article as the FSLS is always looking for material for the booklet. Have you got a photo of JT? Did his sister remain local to Warminster?
Tony Maslen

[Shtom22]

Hello - the letter was sent to his brother in law, not named. I have written and submitted an article for the Frome Soc for Local Study annual publication, it includes the letter and a biographical note on what I found. I don't know if it will be included in this year's edition of the booklet. I could send you a copy now if you are interested. I am not related to this man - I took an interest with a view to writing an article as the FSLS is always looking for material for the booklet. Have you got a photo of JT? Did his sister remain local to Warminster?
Tony Maslen

John Taylor had two sisters who married; their husbands could feasibly be the brother-in-law John was writing to, as he himself didn’t marry until 1861. Elizabeth Mary who married Joshua Rendell in 1846, and Sarah who married Robert Rendell in 1850 (not brothers). John was closer in age to Elizabeth Mary than Sarah. However, it is worth remembering too that the term in-law was often used to describe cousins etc, when the exact family link was unknown.

I have recently discovered this family myself through DNA. Sarah’s son William Rendell left Wiltshire sometime after the 1871 census, and by 1878 was married in Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales, under the new name William Jones. He lied on all official documents in his lifetime, never giving the same place of birth more than once… but DNA doesn’t lie!

I don’t have any family documents. But John’s extended family mainly remained around Corsley in Wiltshire and Frome in Somerset. I would be interested in reading your article, thank you.

[Whitehorse]

You mention about what is available on Ancestry regarding JT - I searched the public member tree section and found nothing. Is this what you are referring to?
I will need your email address to send the article.

[Shtom22]

You mention about what is available on Ancestry regarding JT - I searched the public member tree section and found nothing. Is this what you are referring to?
I will need your email address to send the article.

My email is sianesb1 {at} gmail.com

Thank you