Birthplace:
- Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Birthdate:
- 20 August 1843
Nationality:
- English
Family Background:
- His father was William Stanhope Pitt Taylor, Esquire
At Sandhurst:
- No
Foreign Languages:
- French
Career before Halifax:
- Ensign, 17 November 1863 (purchase)
- Lieutenant, 26 October 1865 (purchase)
Postings while in NS Command:
- Saint John, New Brunswick, 28 September 1869 to 24 September 1870
- Halifax, 25 September 1870 to 25 November 1871
Married:
- Elizabeth Bannerman Burnett, at Gather Castle, Aberdeenshire, Episcopalian Church of Scotland, 2 February 1869
Children:
- Sarah Lauderdale Pitt (b. Saint John, 5 March 1870)
Career after Halifax:
- Captain, 17 July 1872
- retired by the sale of his commission, 15 March 1873
On his baptismal certificate, which is preserved in W.O. 31 at the Public Record Office, Taylor's father was listed as William Stanhope Taylor Esquire, and his mother was referred to as "Lady Sarah", which probably indicates that they were of independent means, and of some stature in local society. Little is known of Pitt Taylor's background other than this. He may well have been an amateur piper, as one of the tunes which the 78th's pipe corps is listed as playing in Halifax is "Lt. Pitt [sic] Taylor's Farewell to Broughty Ferry" (a suburb of Dundee, Scotland). George John was the only Pitt (or Pit) Taylor to have served with the 78th.