Taylor, Fred J. 1919–2008

(Fred James Taylor, Frederick James Taylor)

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born February 9, 1919, in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire (some sources cite nearby Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire), England; died May 7, 2008. Outdoor enthusiast, hunter and fisher, sales representative, columnist, and author. As a boy Taylor hunted small game and birds in the woods, and he learned how to cook what he caught. As a man he focused on fishing, and he became one of the preeminent anglers of his time. He was a nature lover and outdoor camper all his life. When it was time to earn a living, Taylor was fortunate enough to find vocations that enabled him to do work that he loved. For some twenty years, he earned his bread and butter selling fishing tackle for the Efgeeco company. For everything else, he paid his way with his wit and his pen. Taylor's first fishing article appeared in the Angling Times in 1954. By 1966 he was the author of a weekly angling column in the Evening Standard. His other columns included "Beginners" in the Angling Times, "Fishing for Fun" in Anglers Mail, and "The Countryman" in Shooting Times. His column in Saga magazine debuted in 1994. He contributed to many other periodicals as well, including Field and Stream. Taylor's pleasures also became the topics of several books, including Favourite Swims and Still Water Pitches (1961), One for the Pot: Game Cookery Book (1979), Reflections on the Water: The Best of Fred J. Taylor (1982), Country Hearts: A Gallery of Country People (2001), and his last essay collection, Rabbiting Man (2007). Taylor was inducted into the International Fishing Hall of Fame in 1978; he was decorated a member of the Order of the British Empire in 2000.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

BOOKS

Taylor, Fred J., My Fishing Years, David & Charles (Newton Abbot, England), 1981.

Taylor, Fred J., Reflections of a Countryman, Hutchinson (London, England), 1982.

PERIODICALS

Times (London, England), May 20, 2008, p. 55.