John Debenham Taylor
John Debenham Taylor | |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 April 1920 Wallington, Surrey (now London), England |
| Died | 30 January 2016 (aged 95) |
| Education | Aldenham School |
| Occupation | Intelligence officer |
| Spouse | Gillian May James (m.1966) |
| Children | 1 |
John Debenham Taylor CMG OBE (25 April 1920 – 30 January 2016), was a British intelligence officer.
Taylor was born on 25 April 1920 in Wallington, Surrey (now London), and educated at Aldenham School.[1]
In February 1939, he joined the Territorial Army, and at the start of the war in September, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery.[1] In 1942, he moved into intelligence work, and became an instructor to Beaulieu, in the New Forest, the Special Operations Executive (SOE) "finishing school" for agents.[1]
In 1944, Taylor was promoted to major, and posted to Ceylon, and then Indonesia.[1] When SOE was dissolved in January 1946, he joined the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) and worked there for the next 30 years, but his official status was that of a diplomat.[1]
He was appointed OBE in 1959, and CMG in 1967.[1]
In 1966, Taylor married Gillian May James, a BBC make-up artist, having met her in 1965, and they had a daughter Cate Debenham-Taylor, an actress.[1]