William Kirwan-Taylor
| Full name | William John Kirwan-Taylor | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 29 June 1905 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Sutton, Surrey, England | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 28 August 1994 (aged 89) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Lausanne, Switzerland | ||||||||||||||||
| University | Trinity College, Cambridge | ||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Alfred Suenson-Taylor (brother) Charles Taylor (brother) Edward Mountain (grandson) | ||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Surveyor | ||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||
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Lieutenant colonel William John Kirwan-Taylor (29 June 1905 – 28 August 1994), also known as John Taylor, was an English international rugby union player of the 1920s.
Kirwan-Taylor was born in Sutton, Surrey. One of his brothers was the long-serving Conservative MP Charles Taylor and another, Alfred Suenson-Taylor, 1st Baron Grantchester, stood unsuccessfully for the House of Commons. He read law at Trinity College, Cambridge, and featured in the 1926 Varsity Match for Cambridge University.
In 1928, Kirwan-Taylor gained five England caps as a right wing three-quarter, which included all four matches of their grand slam-winning Five Nations campaign, contributing a try against Wales at Swansea.
Kirwan-Taylor, a surveyor by profession, served as a lieutenant colonel with the Rifle Brigade during World War II and was also a General Staff Officer in the American 1st Airborne Division. He was made an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1946 Birthday Honours for his military service.