William Taylor

William Taylor was a member of the Essex Beagles for much of the 1890s, having previously been a member of one of its predecessors, the Beaumont Harriers, in the late 1880s. A frequent participant in race walking events in the Essex area, he also was associated with the Essex Cycling Club in the early 1900s, and served as honorary secretary of both that club as well as the Essex Beagles.

In 1899, he finished fourth in the London to Brighton race. The first three gained automatic entry into the Paris Olympic Marathon the following year but, despite being 23 minutes behind third placed Ion Pool, Taylor still raced in Paris and, like the three other British starters, did not finish. Like his father, William Taylor, Snr., Taylor’s career was in the insurance industry as a life insurance agent.