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Born: Richard Paul Taylor

Date of Birth: October 6, 1991

Place of Birth: Reading, Berkshire

Alma Mater: -

Allegiance: HM Queen Elizabeth II

Branch: British Army

Years of Service: 2008 - 2020

Rank: Corporal

Taylor joined the British Army aged 16, after leaving Reading School with no GCSEs. He joined AFC Harrogate in September 2008, before moving on to ITC Catterick the following year. It was during his time at Catterick that he met his only known "friend", Richard Knight. Taylor was posted to 1st Battalion, Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, where he remained for the rest of his career.

Taylor's first tour of duty was to Iraq in 2009. During a routine patrol, his platoon came under small arms and RPG fire. Noticing his Platoon Commander, Lieutenant James, had been hit and was stranded in the open, Taylor abandoned his defensive position to assist his commander. Taylor was later awarded the Military Cross for actions of gallantry.

He was posted to Afghanistan in 2011, to assist with the training of the Afghan National Army, it was during this tour that Taylor was promoted to Lance Corporal. 3 weeks before he was due to return to the United Kingdom, Taylor suffered a gunshot wound to his left soldier whilst treating a wounded local politician in Helmand province. Despite his injuries, and with the support of his section, Taylor proceeded to treat his victim and successfully evacuacted him to a nearby hospital. He was again awarded the Military Cross for actions of gallantry.

Following Taylor's return from Afghanistan, he worked out of ATC Pirbright training new Recruits until early 2014 when his platoon was posted to Afghanistan for a second time, this time to assist with the withdrawal of British forces from the region. He returned in the winter of 2014.

Taylor resumed duties at Pirbright until 2017 when his battalion was posted to Bielefeld, Germany. Taylor was promoted to the rank of Corporal during his time in Germany.

Taylor's battalion left Germany in August 2019 and were posted to Cyprus, beginning a 2 year rotation. 2 months into the his time in Cyprus, Taylor handed in his notice of resignation and would leave the army a year later in October 2020, two weeks after his 29th birthday.

Taylor joined Ares Defence Services, a Contractor for the Ministry of Defence, in January 2021.

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