Paul Harvard Taylor (b. 10th April 1908) was one of four children born to Charles and Gertrude Taylor. He went to Stratheden House Pre-Prep School and then to Windlesham House where, at the age of about 8 years, was taught football by what we now know as a 20 year old “gap student” (working at the school before he went up to university) called C.O. Stanley. Thirty years later C.O. Stanley was Chairman of Pye of Cambridge (one of the largest consumer electronics companies of the time) and at their first meeting to discuss Pye taking a stake in Pamphonic, C.O. Stanley (long forgotten by Paul Taylor) produced a photo of Paul aged 8! C.O. Stanley became an investor in Pamphonic Reproducers Ltd and a lifelong supporter.
Paul lived with his siblings and parents in Eltham (South London) and after Seth Taylor died in 1917, Charles acquired his father’s massive Victorian mansion (Granard) in Putney with 16 staff. He maintained it for his unmarried aunts to enjoy for the rest of their lives – while remaining at his far more modest home in Eltham before moving to Regents Park.
Paul Taylor was due to go to Harrow School, but apparently his mathematics was not up to standard but, even as a boy, he was a mad keen scientist/engineer. He built his own x-ray machine and a Van der Graaf generator for recreating the effect of lightning from huge voltages.
He went to Brighton College and then at age 20 to Faraday House – the leading Electronics College in London at the time – where he met Edgar Lavington – his future business partner and life-long friend. They were at Faraday House from April 1928 to June 1931.
Paul Taylor and Edgar Lavington were seconded as students to Standard Telephone and Cables Ltd and both spent around three months together in Newcastle working with the team installing the first automatic telephone exchange in the UK.