WCC honours Past Master and WWII hero – Captain Ronald (Ron) Taylor

On a sunny Saturday in July (July 6) in Brighton, the Company joined with the Secret WWII learning network to unveil a plaque honouring the late Captain Ronald Taylor, who was born near the spot where the plaque is situated and was a sabotage agent working with the Special Operations Executive during World War II.

The special commemorative plaque was unveiled by the Master, Mike Parrett, who is seen above on the left addressing the attendees, and on the right, with John Taylor, Ron Taylor’s son, after the plaque had been unveiled.

The ceremony was attended by many current members and Past Masters of the Worshipful Company of Constructors, who gathered in front of the plaque for the photograph below:

Pictured L to R: PM John Robson; Tricia Tyrrell; Michelle Burrell; the Mistress, Jessica Parrett; Middle Warden Arthur Seymour; the Master, Michael Parrett; PM John Burrell; Maris Robson; PM Ian Mason; PM Michael May and PM Roger Adcock.

Ron Taylor was our Master in 1985/6.  He was the subject of an article in the 2017 issue of the Journal of the Worshipful Company of Constructors, and this can be accessed here.  Ron was born in Brighton in 1916, and attended Varndean Grammar School before graduating from the University of London with a degree in engineering.  He was a structural engineer by profession and during the second world war he joined the Royal Engineers and was parachuted into occupied France, working as a key part of the Special Operations Executive mission.

As the Master, Michael Parrett said “We are extremely proud of our association with Captain Ronald Taylor and are pleased to be part of this important unveiling ceremony”.

Also present at the ceremony were many of Captain Taylor’s surviving relatives, and his daughter Diane has written to the Clerk as follows:

“I wanted to ask you to forward a huge thank you to the Worshipful Company of Constructors for their kind and generous input to my Dad’s Plaque ceremony on Saturday, 6 July in Brighton.  I was very impressed how many of your members travelled to the event, turning up and looking so smart in the heat!  The family enjoyed themselves and we all had a wonderful day being blessed with glorious weather.  The ceremony was just the right length of time followed by a toast to my Dad with Italian wine etc under the shade of the trees as it was so hot!  I love “your” plaque, and actually prefer it to the original one!  I know none of this could have happened without the Constructors’ help.

Please send a special warm thank you to [the Master] for his kind words about my Dad and for his generosity.  It was certainly a day for the memory books.

Once again, thank you all so much,

Very best wishes,

Diane”

Diane also sent some photographs of the event which show her and John unveiling the plaque and a group photograph of the family.

The unveiling of the Plaque (Before)

The unveiling of the Plaque (After)

Captain Taylor’s Family