Sidney Alfred Taylor (service number 14251545) was killed in action on 15 October 1944. He served with the Royal Artillery, 76 Field Regiment. He was previously buried at Peelkant (A. van Duren) in Overloon. On 27 May 1947, he was transferred to the current cemetery at Overloon War Cemetery and is buried in plot number IV. B. 10. His gravestone reads: “At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them”.

FAMILY HISTORY

Sidney was born on 20 February 1916 in Chilvers Coton, Warwickshire, England.
His parents were George William Taylor (1883–1957) and Alma Edith Nixon (1885–1954).

He had the following siblings: John William 1905-1905, George Ernest 1907-1986, Frank Albert 1908-1989, Edna May 1910-1982, Walter 1911-1911, Mary A 1913-1913, Ellen 1913-1913, Elsie Anne 1913-1975, Eva Alma 1919-1995, Norah Ethel 1922-2007, Dorothy Edna 1924-2014 and Kenneth Cecil 1925-2007.

The family lived in Nuneaton in Warwickshire.
In 1940, he married Ivy Irene Mann from Stockingford Nuneaton and became the father of a daughter, Kay.

He was a lorry driver when he joined the Coventry Police Force on 13 April 1937.

Sidney volunteered for the army, even though he had a protected job as a police officer in Coventry. The family never knew what his motivation was; he had just married Ivy, had a young daughter (Kay) and, as a police officer, had seen first-hand the destruction caused by German air raids on Coventry and his hometown of Nuneaton.

MILITARY CAREER

After enlisting in 1942 at the age of 26, he was assigned to a number of units during his training and eventually ended up with the 76th Royal Artillery (Highland) Regiment, a Scottish territorial regiment, where he presumably had no friends from his hometown of Nuneaton.

Sidney Taylor was on the front line of the invasion and liberation of Europe, as a D-Day landing soldier with the 76th Royal Artillery in the first wave of attacks on 6 June 1944 on Sword Beach. He then fought continuously in many important European battles and advances before he was killed outside Overloon on 15 October 1944.

In 1942, the soldiers trained in Devon and Edinburgh, and later in 1943, the regiment trained intensively with the 3rd British Infantry Division in preparation for the Allied landing in Normandy, Operation Overlord. As part of the 21st Army Group, the regiment developed into a modern, mobile artillery unit specialising in self-propelled operations.

Whereas in 1940 the regiment had been forced to fight as a surprised unit during the retreat to Dunkirk in France, by 1944 it was ready as a reformed, well-trained and modern artillery regiment — ready for the coming major operations on the European mainland.

In May 1944, the regiment was stationed in Emsworth, Hampshire, where they waited to board ships to begin the secret invasion. There they were inspected by General Eisenhower and King George VI. At 13:00 on 5 June 1944, they departed from Portsmouth and landed at 07:25 on 6 June on Sword Beach in France, between Oustreham and Lion-sur-Mer. There were casualties, including the troop commander, Captain Ian Bell. By evening, they had left the beach and reached Hermanville-sur-Mer.

The regiment then became involved in the battle for Caen, which held up the Allies until the end of July. The regiment was particularly delayed in the battle for control of the Chateau de la Londe (Operation Mitten). This was finally captured from the Germans on 28 June by the 1st Suffolk Regiment in a brutal hand-to-hand battle. After the Allied landings on 6 June 1944, the German occupying forces had used the chateau as a command post.

The attack on the chateau proved to be particularly fierce. British units suffered heavy losses, mainly because they had to storm the target without sufficient armoured support. Veterans later described this battle as one of the bloodiest of the Normandy campaign, with hundreds of British casualties. The château was an important, heavily defended target in the Allied attempt to liberate the area around Caen: Operation Goodwood.

On 8 July, they supported Operation Charnwood to clear parts of Caen.

CAEN

The battle for Caen lasted more than a month. Through the attack plan Operation Charnwood, the Allies finally succeeded in taking most of the city on 9 July. At 9.50 p.m. on 7 July, a large-scale bombardment began: 467 Allied aircraft bombarded the city, which was almost completely destroyed within forty minutes. Approximately 300 French civilians were killed. However, this also alerted the Germans in time.

The next morning at sunrise, British and Canadian troops began their attack, supported by a so-called creeping barrage. British and Canadian artillery guns fired continuously at the German positions north of the city, shifting the impact area by about 100 metres every five minutes. The subsequent attack was carried out by 115,000 men and 500 tanks.

Operation Charnwood was followed by Operation Jupiter, Operation Goodwood and finally Operation Atlantic, with the aim of completely capturing Caen and the surrounding areas. It was not until 19 July that this goal was achieved — at an enormous cost: approximately 30,000 British and Canadian deaths and around 3,000 civilian casualties.

After the fighting at Caen, the regiment continued to provide support. On 17 July, they crossed the River Orne via a Bailey Bridge, known as the Escarde Bridge. The following days were relatively quiet, with only sporadic fighting and limited losses.

To recover from the heavy fighting of the previous months and to process the many losses, the commander decided on 26 July to give the entire regiment a day of rest on the beaches of Luc-sur-Mer. According to the war diaries, it was a wonderful day, although even then there were still losses due to enemy fire from positions behind the beaches.

FIGHTING AROUND FALAISE

The regiment then moved westwards, along the south of Bayeux towards Vire. This was probably part of the manoeuvres that led to the closing of the Falaise pocket on 21 August, in which large numbers of German troops were surrounded.

The regiment stayed successively in Vire, Tinchebray and Flers. At the end of August, they advanced further north and on 17 September they crossed the French-Belgian border, north of Mons. On 19 September, they took part in fighting at Lille-Saint-Hubert, where they helped to reinforce the bridgehead.

Between 11 and 19 September 1944, this village was on the front line between German and British troops. The battle to cross the Meuse–Escaut Canal, north of the village, played a crucial role in this. On 19 September, Lille–Saint-Hubert was completely liberated and the regiment moved on to successfully provide support at Hamont.

HOLLAND

On 21 September, they crossed the Dutch border at Weert. In the period that followed, they regularly saw action in Bakel and Gemert, among other places.

At the end of September, the regiment was moved to Molenhoek, a village near Nijmegen, to support the 82nd US Airborne Division, with the 3rd British Infantry Division remaining in reserve. From 1 October, the regiment helped the Americans clear the northern bank of the Meuse, from Mook to beyond Cuijk, to enable the construction of new bridges.

However, the regiment was the first to receive orders to fire artillery at German territory, above the hamlet of Frasselt, which lies directly against the woods of the Reichswald. In September 1944, bombings were carried out here to hit German units and prevent regrouping. Although the attacks were aimed at military targets, it was mainly civilians in the area who were hit by fragmentation bombs. The area would remain a fiercely contested front zone for months to come.

Overloon

In the first days of October 1944, they assisted the Americans wherever possible, while preparations were being made for a move to the village of Sint Anthonis. On 9 October, they were almost immediately called into action in the fighting around Oploo, in support of the 3rd British Infantry Division, and began preparations for the attack on Overloon.

At 11:00 on 12 October, they fired red smoke grenades to mark targets for Allied fighter-bombers in the woods southeast of Overloon. These attacks later proved to be particularly successful.

In the first days of October 1944, they assisted the Americans wherever possible, while preparations were being made for a move to the village of Sint Anthonis. On 9 October, they were almost immediately called into action in the fighting around Oploo, in support of the 3rd British Infantry Division, and began preparations for the attack on Overloon.

At 11:00 on 12 October, they fired red smoke grenades to mark targets for Allied fighter-bombers in the woods southeast of Overloon. These attacks later proved to be particularly successful.

At 11:00 that same day, more than 200 Allied guns, positioned at Sint Anthonis, Oploo, Stevensbeek and De Rips, opened fire. In an hour and a half, more than 25,000 shells landed on Overloon. At quarter past twelve, when the village had been reduced to rubble, two infantry battalions advanced. On the western flank was the 1st Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment and on the eastern flank was the 2nd Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment through the Stevensbeek woods. They were followed by Churchill tanks from the Coldstream Guards and by so-called Flail tanks, specially equipped to clear minefields.

The infantrymen followed the slowly advancing tanks at a short distance. The first hour went well, but as soon as the East Yorks reached the woods north of Overloon, the Germans put up increasingly fierce resistance. Tanks got stuck in minefields and suffered heavy losses from German anti-tank guns, partly because the marshy terrain forced them to stay on the roads.

Around 3 p.m., the reserve battalion of the 8th British Brigade, the 1st Battalion South Lancashire Regiment, was also deployed to protect the right flank. With the support of the Coldstream Guards, they reached the woods west of Overloon. After a laboriously coordinated attack, the heavily destroyed village was largely in British hands that evening.

On Friday 13 October, the offensive resumed in the early morning. The pattern repeated itself: limited progress, heavy losses and bitter fighting in the surrounding woods. The Germans were pushed back only metre by metre. Four Churchill tanks were put out of action. On 14 October, the regiment remained active in clearing the area east and south of Overloon. This day is seen as the liberation of Overloon, but it came at the cost of many casualties from various regiments such as the Royal Ulster Rifles, King’s Own Scottish Borderers and the Lincolnshires.

On 15 October, one day after the liberation of Overloon, the regiment was ordered to carry out an attack on the village of Smakt, together with the 11th Armoured Division. The attack started from an area guarded by the 2nd Battalion of the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry. The target was the railway line that ran from north to south a few hundred metres west of Smakt.
The advance was difficult because heavy military traffic had made the roads virtually impassable. The attack was supported by the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry and a rolling artillery barrage that moved 100 metres every two minutes. The barrage was to remain at the opening line for 10 minutes. However, due to short range, shells fell in their own territory, causing casualties. The offensive stalled temporarily, after which the barrage was discontinued and replaced by explosive charges.

The terrain consisted of a vast sandy plain with dunes, virtually impassable for vehicles. The commander’s reconnaissance vehicle even had to be towed by a tank to maintain radio contact. Despite opposition, several companies eventually reached the railway line. This was followed by heavy enemy fire, including 105 mm and 88 mm guns, mortars and Nebelwerfers. The losses among the British units were considerable. It is worth mentioning that Sergeant George Harold Eardley of the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry was later awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions that day.

Sadly, Sidney Taylor was killed in action during the fighting on 15 October 1944. He was temporarily buried at Peelkant in Overloon and later on 27 May 1947 reburied at Overloon War Cemetery. On the same day, also Reginald Woodland was killed in action, a comrade from the same regiment. 

Note: The inscription on Sidney’s war grave in Overloon incorrectly states he died aged 32. He was actually born in 1916 and so was 28 years old.

AFTER THE WAR

Sidney’s family did not know where he was or what he was doing during the war. There is a letter dated 10 June 1944 to Ivy, in which he writes that he is “somewhere in France”, but for security reasons he gives no further details.

His subsequent letters home contain no specific details about where he was or what actions he was involved in. When he was killed, the family was only told where it had happened.

It was only years later, when his grandson Andrew researched his grandfather’s military career, that it became clear that he had landed on Sword Beach in Normandy on 6 June 1944 and how he had ultimately lost his life in Overloon.

In 2013, Kay, her husband Barrie, her son Andrew and his children, Sidney Taylor’s great-grandchildren, visited the grave in Overloon.