Johnny Taylor

Johnny Taylor was the son of Sir Charles Taylor, Member of Parliament for the Eastbourne constituency between 1935-74. Taylor junior attended Eton College and then read law at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford. He gained his skiing half blue in 1962 and was captain of the Oxford University Skiing Club in 1964-65. He was also cox to the St. Edmund Hall rowing team. Taylor qualified as a barrister in 1968.

A member of the British skiing team between 1962-66, Taylor took part in the 1962 World Ski Championships at Chamonix and fell just 100 metres from the finish line in the downhill. He got back onto his skis and crossed the line to a great ovation from the crowd. Taylor competed in the 1964 Innsbruck Olympics and the following year won the slalom title at the British Men’s Ski Championship and was runner-up to Jeremy Palmer-Tomkinson for the overall title.

Taylor´s father was also a skier and competed in the British and Swiss Inter-Parliamentary Skiing Championships. He was also a proficient yachtsman and was a reserve for the British sailing team at the 1952 Olympics. Taylor´s mother and father died within five weeks of each other in 1989.