b. 22/07/1981 George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.
DATE OF CGC ACTION: 01/10/2009 to 31/10/2010 Afghanistan.
Robin E G Bourne-Taylor CGC
Robin Bourne-Taylor was born in the Cayman Islands on 22nd July 1981. He was educated in England, firstly at Abington School, where he first developed his love for rowing. He also became the school’s Head Boy. In 2000 he gained a place at Christ Church, Oxford where he studied engineering. He would later achieve a Master’s Degree in the subject. While at the University of Oxford, Bourne-Taylor was a member of Oxford University Boat Club and took part in the Boat Race four times in five years between 2001 and 2005 (taking a year off to train for the 2004 Summer Olympics). He was elected president of the Oxford University Boat Club for the 2004–05 academic year.
Having won a silver medal at the 1999 World Rowing Junior Championships, Bourne-Taylor won his first senior international vest in 2002. He sat in the seven seat of the Great Britain Eight, which made the final of the World Rowing Championships in Seville. He occupied the same seat a year later when the Eight won a bronze medal at the championships in Milan.
Following this success, Bourne-Taylor decided that training for the Olympics and finishing his engineering degree were incompatible. He took a year off from his studies at Oxford, and trained with the Leander Club in Henley-on-Thames. The buildup to the Olympics for the GB Men’s Rowing Squad was somewhat disrupted due to illness, injury and variable form. Illness to the Eight’s stroke – Thomas James – the night before their Heat in the Olympic competition was a particular blow, and while James returned for the repechage, the crew failed to make the final.
Bourne-Taylor did not represent Great Britain in 2005 and 2006, choosing to concentrate on finishing his degree and dedicate himself to a career in the British Army. He returned to the international scene in 2007, rejoining the Eight, sitting in the seven seat, and winning a bronze medal at the world championships in Munich. Bourne-Taylor then spent most of 2008 in the Eight. However, late changes saw him move into the Coxless Pair with Tom Solesbury. The pair had only a few weeks to train together, and finished a disappointing 13th at the Olympics in Beijing.
Tragedy struck Robin early in his Army career, he lost his girlfriend, Second Lieutenant Jo Dyer, was killed by an improvised explosive device in Basra on Thursday, 5 April 2007. Lt Dyer, 24, who trained at Sandhurst Military Academy with Prince William, was Captain Bourne-Taylor’s university sweetheart.
Bourne-Taylor was commissioned into the Life Guards, after the 44-week commissioning course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, as a Second Lieutenant on August 12, 2006 with seniority from February 9, 2003. He was promoted on the same day to Lieutenant with seniority from February 9, 2005. He was promoted to captain on February 12, 2009.
His first operational posting was to Afghanistan on October 1, 2009. He was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross in the Operational Honours And Awards List of September 24, 2010, “for gallant and distinguished services in Afghanistan during the period October 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010”. In February 2010, he was leading a reconnaissance patrol when they came under fire. He led an attack which saw off the Taliban insurgents after a 45-minute fire-fight. Days later Capt Bourne-Taylor’s unit pursued Taliban gunmen for more than a mile to prevent an ambush. He said: “I haven’t really thought about the award much. A huge number of people have done quite exceptional things in Afghanistan. It’s slightly embarrassing to get an award when every single day my blokes were doing incredibly brave things.”
Capt Bourne-Taylor added: “So many people are doing great jobs at all levels of the military. In every part there’s great leadership involved, and that’s very important.” He left the army in the summer of 2010 and was transferred to the Regular Army Reserve of Officers on 1 January 2011 thereby officially ending his army career. He has since been involved in working with an organisation called “Military App” which supports veterans, and also gives motivational speeches.
CGC CITATION:
The Queen has been graciously pleased to approve the following awards for gallant and distinguished services in Afghanistan during the period 1st October 2009 to 31st
March 2010.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: WITH RECIPIENT.
