Rank: Flying Officer

Number RAAF 408888

Unit RAAF 101 Squadron Prior to this he was in the 22nd Militia Battalion.

Place of Birth Leongatha 6 August 1921

Next of Kin Thomas Taylor his father. His mother was Jane Taylor

Date and place of enlistment

20 June 1941 in Melbourne

Location on enlistment Leongatha

Occupation bank officer

Date and place of death

17 April 1943 aged 21 in Germany

Location of grave or memorial

He is buried in Durnbach War Cemetery Germany. His name is on the Leongatha Memorial and the memorial at Leongatha Secondary College (formerly Leongatha High)

Relationship to Woorayl Shire

The son of Thomas and Jane Taylor, Max was born in Leongatha on August 6th 1921. He lived in Nerrena Rd just past the Secondary College towards the Tarwin River. He attended Leongatha State School and Leongatha High School before becoming a bank official at the State Savings Bank, Leongatha. He was a keen participant in various sporting activities, notably football and cricket and �could run like the wind�.

Military History

Max was an Air Force Flying Officer in the 101st Squadron.

He was a member of the 22nd Militia Battalion from August 1939 and on 21 June 1941 when he transferred to the Air Force. Max left Australia for the United Kingdom on 7 August 1942 arriving there on 3 October. He continued to train as a navigator and was placed in the 101st Squadron before going into action against the Germans over Europe.

On the night of the 16 and 17 April 1943 Max was a member of a bomber crew on an operational flight over German occupied territory. The plane failed to return to base and Max lost his life.

His brother, Walter James Taylor, also a past student of Leongatha High School served also in the Air Force and became an airline pilot after the war.