Harold Burfield Taylor Brigadier Harold Burfield Taylor MC and bar ( 10 August 1890 – 15 March 1966 ) was an analytical chemist ( B . Sc . , D . Sc . ) and an Australian Army officer who served in the First and the Second World Wars . A junior officer in the First World War , during the Second World War he was commander of the 22nd Infantry Brigade during the Invasion of Malaya . Captured along with many of his fellow soldiers following the fall of Singapore , he spent the remainder of the war as a prisoner of war . In civilian life , he was an analyst for the government and an expert in poisons , often called upon to give evidence in criminal trials involving poisoning . Early life and scientific career . Taylor was born on 10 August 1890 in Enfield , Sydney to an Englishman and his Australian wife . He was educated at Sydney Boys ' High School and the University of Sydney , where he graduated Bachelor of Science ( B . Sc . ) in 1912 . Interested in chemistry and military science , he served with the Sydney University Scouts , ( a Militia unit ) , and was commissioned in 1913 . Taylor commenced his analytic career as assistant government analyst in the New South Wales Department of Public Health in 1915 . While his work involved analysis of a wide range of products , he became well known for giving evidence in criminal trials involving poisons . First World War . Taylor volunteered for the Australian Imperial Force ( AIF ) in 1915 and , commissioned as a second lieutenant in September that year , was assigned to 19th Battalion . The battalion at the time was involved in training in Egypt following the Gallipoli Campaign , before embarking in March 1916 to France for service on the Western Front . The battalion engaged in the trench warfare that was typical of the front , and took part in the Battle of Pozières . Prior to this , in June , Taylor had been promoted to lieutenant . Early the following year , he was promoted again , this time to captain . At Lagnicourt , Taylor ' s leadership of his company was crucial in defeating a German attack during the second phase of the Battle of Arras on 15 April , and he was rewarded with a Military Cross . Taylor was recommended a bar to his Military Cross on 9 October 1917 , during the Battle of Poelcappelle which was part of the Battle of Passchendaele , leading a small force of two companies to capture German positions in Daisy Wood , near Ypres . He continued to serve with the battalion until the end of the war and upon his return to Australia , was discharged from the AIF . Interwar period . Taylor recommenced his analytical work , authoring or co - authoring a number of papers pertaining to chemical analysis of coal and lead amongst other substances . He also completed extensive work in relation to the preservation of milk and earned a Doctor of Science ( D . Sc ) in 1925 from the University of Sydney . By 1934 , he was Deputy Government Analyst of New South Wales . Taylor also continued to be involved with the militia , having resumed his militia career in 1920 . A battalion commander by 1926 , he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1927 and continued to be appointed to command various militia battalions , including the 18th and 56th battalions . Second World War . After the outbreak of the Second World War , Taylor was promoted to temporary brigadier and given command of 5th Brigade , a militia formation which then tasked with defensive duties in Australia . In July 1940 , he was seconded to the AIF , which had been raised for service overseas , and appointed commander of 22nd Infantry Brigade . The brigade was composed of 2 / 18th , 2 / 19th and 2 / 20th battalions and was subordinate to the 8th Division , initially commanded by Vernon Sturdee ( who would shortly be made Army chief of staff , Major General Gordon Bennett taking over command of the division in his stead ) . The brigade was originally destined for the Middle Eastern but the Australian government offered to send it to Singapore to shore up Britain ' s defences , an offer gratefully accepted by the British prime minister , Winston Churchill . Malaya and Singapore . After a period of training in New South Wales , the brigade embarked for Malaya on 2 February 1941 with Taylor traveling in advance of the main body by flying boat . He spent time gauging the current training methods in use amongst the British and Indian units already stationed in Malaya . Observing the terrain in which his soldiers may have to fight , he implemented acclimatisation and jungle warfare training for his brigade . The brigade was based at Mersing , and spent time constructing defences and laying minefields . It also underwent brigade level training exercises and it was during one of these exercises that Taylor clashed with Bennett , his new commanding officer . Taylor ' s relationship with Bennett was difficult . Bennett ' s command in Malaya at the time consisted solely of Taylor ' s brigade , with other elements of the 8th Division to follow . This meant that Bennett ' s oversight was more overbearing than would normally be the case and this resulted in disputes over the use and distribution of his brigade . Following the invasion of Malaya by the Japanese Empire , the brigade was forced into fighting rear guard actions against the advancing Japanese . This led to more clashes with Bennett , who felt that Taylor , by requesting to establish fallback positions , was too pessimistic in his defence arrangements . The brigade later withdrew to Singapore Island , its three battalions taking up positions across an eight mile front on the north western coast of the island . On the night of 8 February , the Japanese launched landings on Taylor ' s sector , forcing his brigade into a fighting withdrawal . The Japanese advance may have been assisted by Taylor ' s directions to his platoon and company commanders to withdraw back to their headquarter position if they felt in danger of being overrun . By 12 February , the Japanese were well established on Singapore Island and advancing on all fronts . That day Taylor , extremely fatigued , asked Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Varley , commander of 2nd / 18th Battalion , to take over temporary command of the brigade . The following day , Bennett promoted Varley to brigadier and made him the permanent commander of the brigade , a command would last only a few more days before the surrender of Singapore on 15 February . Taylor spent the remainder of the war as a prisoner of war of the Japanese . While imprisoned at Changi , he set up and ran an educational program for his fellow prisoners which had to be eventually abandoned as men were transferred to other camps . Sent to prisoner camps in Taiwan and then Manchuria , his scientific knowledge was of benefit in ensuring his fellow prisoners maximised their nutritional intake from the limited rations provided by the Japanese . Later life . Returning to his scientific career upon his return to Australia after the Second World War , Taylor became the government analyst in March 1946 . He continued to be called upon to advise in criminal cases involving poisons , including those by the mass murderer Caroline Grills . He retired from public service in 1954 although worked as a consultant for several more years . At the time of his retirement he was working on setting standards for the amount of fruit in juices and jams . Taylor died on 15 March 1966 . He was survived by his wife , Nellie Birkenhead Starling , whom he married in 1940 . The couple had no children .