TAYLOR, Stewart Kenneth
Stewart Taylor of St. Thomas, passed away at the St. Thomas-Elgin General Hospital on September 29, 2020 in his 90th year. Stewart was born in Toronto, Ontario on July 4, 1931, son of the late Clara and Kenneth Taylor. Beloved husband of the late Marion Taylor (2012). Dear brother-in-law of Barbara and Leonard (2015) Morley and Barry and Patricia (2018) Fry. Caring uncle of Gregory Fry (Nancy). Stewart was a world expert on WWI Canadian Pilots and enjoyed people and thrived by having stimulating conversations. Cremation has taken place and Stewart's ashes will be scattered in the Old St. Thomas Church Scattering Garden. A heartfelt thank you to the dedicated and caring staff at Caressant Care Retirement Home. In lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated to Animal Aid of St. Thomas. Williams Funeral Home, 45 Elgin Street, St. Thomas.
Peter Kilduff, President Emeritus, League of World War I Aviation Historians wrote “Stewart Taylor was an internationally prominent researcher, writer and well-regarded expert on Canadian airmen in World War I. Over four decades he wrote scores of articles for aviation historical journals in Canada, the UK and the USA. An early and long-time supporting member of the US-based League of World War I Aviation Historians and its quarterly journal Over the Front, Stewart wrote 15 articles for that publication from 1986 to 2006. During that time he was a three-time recipient of The League’s prestigious Thornton D. Hooper Award for Editorial Excellence for articles that appeared in 1986, 1994 and 2003 issues of Over the Front. He was a valued friend of mine for nearly 40 years and will be greatly missed.”
Stewart joined the Canadian Aviation Historical Society as member # 642 in 1966. The CAHS Journal (Vol. 34, No. 4, Winter 1996) contained the article “John Roy Allan: Handley-Page Pilot” by Stewart. At the end of his article the following paragraph compiled by the Journal’s Editor, Bill Wheeler, provided a brief summary of Stewart’s exemplary efforts to record Canadian aviation history.
"Stewart K. Taylor is a retired commercial artist and, for most of his life, a devotee to World War 1 flying. He has researched the lives of Canadians who flew with the RFC, RNAS, IAF and the RAF during WW1 and was named Official Historian for World War I Flyers in 1973. Stewart is a long-time member of the CAHS, the former Cross and Cockade (US) and the League of World War 1 Aviation Historians."