This is text of the eulogy Dave Bradley (Bradders) gave at Don Taylor's funeral, St Peter's Martley, on the 6th January 2006
Do you remember a few years ago, This Is Your Life, the television programme, decided they would do the life of someone who was not a famous actor, sportsperson, politician or the like.
They wanted to do what they called an ordinary person, now I am not suggesting for a minute that Don Taylor was an ordinary person, but wouldn't it have been fun if he had been a 'victim' on This Is Your Life.
Picture it, Martley Village Hall Car park, Don getting out of his ' jalopy', and Eamon Andrews emerging from the shadows.....
“Surprise, Surprise, you thought you were going to be running the Bar for the Martley Airgun Match, but tonight Don Taylor……'This Is You Life'”.
Imagine the look on his face, I think he would have objected a bit at first, but he would soon have come round.
And what a programme it would be.
Think of the guests, what a variety of people would come through the sliding doors.
Internationally famous sportsmen, Ian Botham, Gareth Edwards, Basil D'Oliveira, and many more would have been able to tell a tale about Donald………and yet there would be the locals, the people he grew up with and the people he lived with, the people he knew.
And where would Eamon Andrews start as he opened the Big Red Book ?
At the very beginning I guess.
Donald Edgar Taylor was born on the 2nd August 1934 in Lucy Baldwin Hospital in Stourport.
He was taken back home to Prickly Bungalow, here in Martley, by his father Edgar and his mother Gladys.
And at the age of five he went to Martley Infants School, by a strange twist of fate the school building, which is still there in Berrow Green Road, was right opposite what in later years became Donald's office, there are some who say he didn't spend much time in either, school or office; not one for being stuck indoors was Donald.
Often in trouble, often missing, always late for his tea, birds nesting, scrumping, and even at that age he was into shooting........sadly shooting the caps off the telephone wires got him into some trouble.
Donald's education was continued at Martley when he went to big school, this is the building at the top of the church drive, not the Chantry School you see today, and by this time he had moved to live with his Grandma at Laugherne Villa which later became the family home and the Taylor’s Lorry Depot.
Don’s first job after leaving school was at Ball Mill and he rode there on his bike.
A good example of the change in policing over the years, Don didn't have any lights on his bike and the local copper Mr Brandt had warned him a few time about this, in the end the policeman resorted to shock tactics, shoving a stick through Dons front wheel and throwing him off the bike!!!!
Donald then went for his driving test.
His mother Gladys, herself a lorry driver, went with him into Worcester for his test, he passed, and such was his elation that on the way back he'd got to Broadheath before he realised he'd left his mother in Worcester!!!
He did go back for her.
Donald was called up for the Army at the age of 18, he was conscripted into the Kings Shropshire Light Infantry, and then joined the Durhams.
I once asked him about the army and he told me he was in the R.A.S.C. RUN AWAY SOMEONES COMING !!!
Donald was sent to Korea, what a trip that must have been for a lad who'd hardly been outside Worcestershire, but the war had ended when he got there, out of fear at his imminent arrival was his view.
He often told of the intense cold in Korea, where they had to put planks under the wheels of the trucks to stop the tyres freezing to the ground.
He was very proud to have marched in Hong Kong for the Coronation in 1953, but the Durham’s had to march at the back of the parade as they were the fastest marchers in the army... according to Donald.
He got a photo from his Dad while in Korea, and realised after a while that he recognised the suit his dad had on in the photo….it was Donald’s.
When he left the army Don weighed 10 stone 8 pounds……but he soon made up for it.
Before he'd left for the army Don met his wife to be Margaret in 1951, seven years later, and they married in 1958 at Arley Kings Church, so no danger of speeding there Donald.
Back from the Army he started working for his Dad, Edgar, until that is Edgar sold the lorry Don was driving to Ball Mill, and sold Donald with it……it seems he was part of the deal.
But he returned to drive with his Dad and they started what became E. Taylor and Son and then become something a lot bigger.
At the time he drove all over the country picking up anything and everything.
The Metal Box in Worcester became one of their main contracts, driving from Neath to Wisbech, to Carlisle and the like.
I think this was probably one of Don’s most enjoyable times, it was tough but the drivers realty were the Kings Of The Road, no motorways then, often leaving home on Monday morning and not getting back until Friday evening.
What tales to be told, the Jungle Cafe at Shap, stuck there sometimes in the snow and ice, Mrs Harts in Morecombe or maybe Cab Hotel when they slept in the Lorries?
Cans to Carlisle, fertiliser from Heysham Head on the way back, anything and everything, often loading it by hand.
As a lad I used to go with Donald and Corbo all over the country, sat in the cab what a way to see Britain.
I once asked what the most unusual load he’d taken was ' Eight Ton of Fish Eyes from Grimsby, and a 'Rhinoceros from Dudley Zoo' he told me, and I was never sure if he did or didn't.........
During the sixties and seventies the business grew and grew, it was hard work but as you will know Donald was a very determined man, one of his sayings was 'Play as hard as you like at night, but always be up for work in the morning' and invariably he was.
At the end of the 1980's Don took over the business in full and changed the company name to Taylors Of Martley, bringing his family into the company, and from that one truck they had built up to over 200 wagons, and depots all over the country followed, the first here in Martley.
Donald had many nick names 'Stinker' was one...he was called 'Boss Hog' by some of his employees after the character in Duke of Hazard...
' Go early son, go early' was one of his tips to the drivers and he often asked people just ' pop out' with a load, just ‘pop’ to East Kilbride, or Lowestoft he would say, but ' go early , son, go early'.
Donald officially retired in 1999, but there are those that say he never did retire and never would.
He became what some of the locals called an ' Apprentice Farmer', and he loved the countryside.
Being out in the Teme Valley, shifting this, moving that, building something, knocking it down, and he loved mowing.
He would mow anything, grass, weeds, and stones, tarmac, if it was in the way...it would be mowed.
And on his retirement he did have the odd day shooting….and some even days as well….. on his own shoot at Berrow Farm which he bought in 1989, or anyone else shoot who wanted to invite him. His annual holidays ran from the 1st of October to the 31st January……inclusive.
And he as a darn good shot, to the extent that some of the corporate shoots stopped inviting him, as he was too good, shot too many birds and kept winning their trophies.
Donald’s shoot was never short of beaters…….someone this week told me how at the age of 14 he used to beat for Don, you got paid, always had lots of beer, and strangely a large bag of peanuts as well.
Which take us neatly into sport, because he was a great sports fan.
He was a good cricketer; many here will have played with him at Whichenford, Clifton and for a short while at Martley where he became President.
Martley against Clifton at cricket; there was a game, half of Clifton lived in Martley, and for a few years Edgar played for Martley, and Don for Clifton.
Rangers against Celtic, Liverpool against Everton….
Child’s play compared to Martley against Clifton, in the end the games were called off for a few years to allow things to cool a bit, after an effigy of the Martley umpire was hung in the Clifton changing room.
But he kept up his love of cricket, to be seen at New Road as often as possible, and many a Worcestershire Cricketer has been helped by the generosity of Donald and his family.
Each year Don got his Presidents Eleven to play at Martley, the highlight of the cricketing summer, and you never quite knew who would turn up, international cricketers , the likes of Basil D'Oliveira turned out for Don, and alongside them the bloke who only played once a year, and had to borrow some kit to play.
But always a good day and always a few crates of beer in the back of Dons truck.
One tale that has grown in the telling. One of the ‘once a year boys’ came our to bat for the Presidents team,….plumb LBW first ball, everyone appealed, not out said the umpire who happened to be one D.Taylor, ' Why not' asked the bowler ' Cos he's my mate' says Don...fair enough.
Don often had some 'odd and sods’ in his shed, in his lock up, he was a bit of an Arthur Daley.
One year just before the Six-A-Side we found some barrels of cider in the shed, no one know the age of it, or where it came from, it really had 'fallen off the back of a lorry'.
The barrels were tapped and put through the pumps, bit cloudy but never mind, 'we'll call it Teme Valley Scrump, pound a pint.’
Knighton boys got on the cider early that day, and they lost in the Final, but most them weren't aware they had even played in it!
Don was a big fan of the Worcester Warriors, to be found sat behind the goal with his flat cap and his big coat on, if he hadn’t left his cap on the tractor that is, and he loved the company of sportsmen, going on cricket tours with Worcestershire and England to South Africa, Australia, Zimbabwe and the West Indies.
He carted the Water Hogs round the country to the test match grounds for a while, and got tickets for the Saturday’s of the tests, top stuff, best seats and lunch with all the old stars of the game, rubbing shoulders with the greats.
He took me to Lords once and we sat with Colin Cowdrey, Trevor Bailey, Ted Dexter and the like, and he kept asking them why they kept leaving Graham Hick out of the team.
The Isle Of Man, every year for many, many years for the T.T. Races, what tales to be told, some not to be repeated on occasions like this, but always one of the highlights of his year.
Despite all his gallivanting round, Donald was very proud of his family, of what he and Margaret had achieved, of his three sons and his seven grandchildren and of the company they had built up, and what legacy he leaves, what an act to follow.
They will know that Donald liked things to be done right, he did not suffer fools gladly, and many here, including me, have been on the wrong end of a Taylor Telling Off.
Some people are good at giving you a rollicking……without you realising what had happened for a few minutes…. Donald did not have that talent, what you saw was what you got.
' What d'you mean son you've crashed me tractor'.
As someone once said when his head started to move from side to side, you were in trouble.
'What do you mean son you've scratched the new lorry'.
But he was generally a forgiving man, and he’d give you a second chance, but maybe not a third one.
'One job at a time' he used to say, and when that was completed 'Job done'.
He raised loads of money for charity, abseiling down Marks and Spencer in Worcester a few years ago, and coming down, upside down as well.
The cricket club wanted a new roller, so Donald went on a sponsored diet; someone said if he got to his target weight he could but a new ground never mind a new roller!
This from a Man who loved his food, although he never ever ate rice after his time in Korea, it would have looked silly with a mixed grill would it not?
As the family told me this week, he passed away at five to one, so he could be in heaven in time for dinner.
But always involved always busy, never a dull moment
Just as happy in the Long Room at Lords as the back bar of the Lion at Clifton, never forgetting where he came from, happy to run the bar for the Air Gun Team, driving his Audi up Shelsley Walsh on the 100th anniversary of the track, clearing the mud of the Village Hall Car park, getting the job done.
Now he's finished his innings, he’s played his last test, God bless him Don Taylor, one of the best.
© Dave.Bradley 2006
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Many of you who read this will have known Don Taylor, some of you will have known him better then me, and some will not have known him at all.
Those that did not know him are the unlucky ones.
To say Don Taylor was larger than life is a bit of an understatement, in a world where we are told there a "no characters left" he certainly was one.
Born and bought up in Martley, he never, ever, forgot his roots and loved the place, he often complained about it, and strove to make it better but he was often quoted as saying "There's only one Martley in this world".
Don will be remembered by many for his passion for sport, cricket and rugby remained his great interests in later life, often to be seen at Sixways and at New Road, and he loved the company of sporting people.
He was a good cricketer, playing for Wichenford, Clifton and latterly for Martley and always enjoyed getting his Presidents Eleven out to play the locals, and you were never sure who would turn up, a Test player alongside someone who turned out once a year, but always a highlight of the sporting summer, and always a crate of ale in the back of the "dilley".
He was a personal friend to many a top sportsman, when the Chantry opened new cricket nets he got Ian Botham to come and do it, Gareth Edwards, Basil D'Oliveora and the like were all his "mates".
But he was as happy in the local pubs, be it the Long Room at Lords or the back bar of the Lion at Clifton, Donald would be happy and would find someone to laugh and joke with.
And what a laugh, loud and infectious.
He also loved his shooting, and was at his happiest in the Teme valley, on Berrow Farm at the shoot he ran, and was always off somewhere in the season with his gun, getting back to open the bar in the Village Hall for the Airgun team.
Don was a great family man, he and Margaret were proud of their lads and their families and the Grandchildren, and he was a very astute businessman.
Anyone who can help take a one-lorry company to the heights that Taylors of Martley have achieved, with over 200 trucks on the road knows what he's about.
He had some great phrases that he lived by , "Good old son" when you'd done well, "One job at a time" and when it was completed "Jobs done".
There are some, including me, who felt Donald's other side as well "What do you mean son, you've crashed the tractor?", and when his head started to wobble, stand by!
He liked people to be up front with him, and he could often be blunt, but he always meant well and could be a very forgiving man.
These few words are just a scratch at the surface of the man who was Don Taylor; to put it all down on paper would require a book, or two.
Like many others I am proud to say that I knew him, and will miss him.
I was fascinated to read the messages posted on the website by those who have family connections with Martley - which prompted me to write in, in the hope that someone may be able to help.
I wondered whether anyone might recall, or have any family connection, with Bill BOX who lived at Hillside, Martley and then Kings Green, near Martley. He was born in 1862 and was buried at Wichenford in 1942, so some senior citizens might have childhood recollections of him. Alan Boon in Martley was very helpful in checking some records for Martley School which showed that Bill had attended there, along with his brothers Jack and Arthur. Bill was an elder brother to my great-grandmother Laura Box who married Edward Archer MORRIS (always known as 'Archer'). I have a photo of Archer and Bill when they were quite old but of course I never met either of them. Bill was a shoemaker who worked from home and a relative has told me he had a workshop at the rear of his terraced cottage at Kings Green, possibly into the 1930's.
I know from Parish Records that Bill married Elizabeth SHEPPARD and they had four children:
Leonard - born 1883
Rose or Rosa - born 1884
William Orlando - born around 1887
Florence Lizzie - born about 1889
It seems from census records that the family got split up and I do not know what became of them after 1891. Can anyone help with information on Bill Box, his family or the Morris connection?
I have enjoyed visiting Martley and its historic church, all set in wonderful countryside, and am looking forward to making some return visits this summer.
Wendy
Warwickshire