Although born in India, where his father was a Wesleyan minister, John Taylor was educated at Kingswood School, Bath, before going up to Cambridge University where he attended Trinity College, made famous by the race around the courtyard in the film “Chariots of Fire.” Taylor won the first of two hockey Blues in 1951, when he also became secretary of the Cambridge University Hockey Club. He won a second Blue the following year but missed out on a third one in 1953 when he dislocated a shoulder playing for the University against Beckenham two weeks before the Varsity match.
An inside-right, and occasional winger, Taylor won a bronze medal with the Great Britain team at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics after appearing in the 2-1 victory over Pakistan in the match for third-place. He played most of his club hockey in North Wales with Rhyl, and in 1955 Taylor had the honour of playing for a combined Wales/Ireland team against a combined England/Scotland XI. The match played on his home pitch at Rhyl, and was to commemorate 60 years since the world’s first ever international hockey match (between Wales and Ireland) that was played in the town on 26 January 1895.
Great Britain