MAJOR Robert Taylor doesn’t know why he survived as friends died around him.

He achieved something very, very few men managed during the Second World War.

He was sent to France in October 1939 – a month after the outbreak of war – and fought on with the same battalion until the German surrender in May 1945.

That achievement is remarkable. The bulk of British soldiers fought in maybe one or two campaigns.

Within each battalion there was a constant turnover – men died, they were injured, or just transferred to a safer job.

Very few fought on and on.

Major “Toby” Taylor knows of only one other man from his battalion, around 850-strong, who definitely managed it, though there may have been a handful more.

The 92-year-old said: “I wasn’t bad enough to be kicked out, and I wasn’t good enough to get promoted. The only way out was by death, prisoner of war, or to become a serious casualty.”

Today he lives in a Poole retirement home but his memory of friends and battles is remarkable.

He was evacuated on a hospital ship from Dunkirk, stationed in Parkstone during the Battle of Britain, and was in northern Italy when the war finished.

The surrender of the Japanese came as “such a relief”.

“We were getting ready to go to Japan. We were all told they would fight every inch of the way, being Japanese.”

Major Taylor, now living in Maidment Court on Parkstone Road, spoke frankly about his life during the war.

That includes the good times too – the drink, cabaret and French girls from the “phoney war” are a particular memory.

He stressed that a small, obscure battle can be far more deadly for an infantryman than the biggest campaign.

His battalion, the 1st East Surreys, had their toughest time in Tunisia in 1942 against German paratroopers at the battle of Tebourba.

He was a captain at the time and watched with frustration as his best friend’s position was stormed and the telephone line to his brother officer cut off.

A few days later a parcel arrived from the dead man’s wife with little comforts like underpants, handkerchiefs and tobacco.

“He was dead and gone. That’s the kind of thing that happened weekly. Very sad.”

During that campaign he personally killed a German for the first and only time.

“I shot one from maybe 20 yards away,” said Toby. “I don’t think he had ever seen a British soldier before. He picked up his rifle when he realised I was an English soldier.

“I grabbed my rifle from my batman and shot him. I said, ‘Let’s get the hell back out of it’, because we were probably a bit far forward. I shot him because he was a German and he would have shot me.”

The battalion moved on to the invasion of Sicily in 1943 and the infamous battle of Cassino. Toby recalls, too, standing on the steps of St Peter’s in Rome.

He said there was no bitterness towards the Germans.

“When we captured them, we welcomed them with open arms, not as horrible enemies. The men realised they were living in the same conditions.

“The men would give them a cigarette, pat them on the back, and say ‘The war’s over for you’.”

By this time Toby had battle fatigue and was occasionally allowed to miss out operations.

The war also left him frustrated that he missed his youth. He was 27 but knew nothing of romance and a promising cricket career was cut short.

He spent 30 years in the Army, became a teacher, married and had four children, moving to Dorset 10 years ago.

Today he gives talks to schoolchildren. His props include his wartime coat, which has a few shrapnel holes, a German officer’s hat and a German belt.

The trauma of his experiences still affects him “every day” but he feels no survivor guilt. “Life went on,” he said.

He was injured three times and still suffers headaches and tinnitis from the shock of a shell explosion in Tunisia.

For him, being in the same battalion through the war was a privilege but also a great ordeal.

“All my personal friends, they all died,” he recalled. “Just the luck of the draw if you were killed or not.”