John Taylor Smith

The Rt Rev Taylor Smith

The Rt Rev John Taylor Smith, KCB, CVO, DD (1860–28 March 1938) was the Anglican Bishop of Sierra Leone at the end of the 19th century and Chaplain General to the Forces 1901-1925.

Taylor-Smith was born in Kendal^[1] in 1860 and ordained in 1886.^[2] He was Curate of St Paul’s, Penge^[3] and then Sub-Dean of St George’s Cathedral, Freetown before his elevation to the Episcopate in 1897. He was Honorary Chaplain to Queen Victoria from 1896 to 1901.

On 1 November 1901 he was appointed Chaplain-General to the Forces,^[4] serving until 1925. His tenure included the First World War, and he oversaw the expansion of the chaplaincy service from around 120 chaplains in 1914 to almost 3,500 in 1918.^[5] He was appointed a Companion of the Royal Victorian Order in 1906, a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1921 and created a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1925.^[1][6] A Sub-Prelate of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, he died on 28 March 1938.^[7]

References

1. Rootsweb
2. The Clergy List, Clerical Guide and Ecclesiastical Directory. London, Hamilton & Co, 1889
3. Who was Who 1897-1990 London, A & C Black, 1991 ISBN 0-7136-3457-X.
4. The London Gazette: no. 27379. p. 7653. 22 November 1901.
5. The Royal Army Chaplains Department – Clergy Under Fire, by Michael Snape. Boydell Press, Woodbridge, 2008
6. As a member of the Anglican clergy, traditionally he would not have received the 'accolade' and thus was not entitled to style himself 'Sir'.
7. Deaths The Times Wednesday, Apr 06, 1938; pg. 17; Issue 47962; col E