Notes
His biography on the college website (see references) states: ‘Ian was born in Kensington, the son of Andrew Wilson Tait and his wife, Isobel Allinson. His father was a partner of George Touche, Accountants, and sometime Chairman of the British Aluminium Company Limited. He died in 1930 aged 54, leaving £529,266-1-4. The Taits were living at 10 Holland Park. After the death of his father, his mother moved to 18, Orchard Court, Portman Square, W1. His parents travelled to the United States regularly and his mother continued to do so. Ian accompanied her over Christmas 1935.
Educated at Harrow, he Matriculated in 1934. He was a member of the Oxford University Greyhounds and graduated in 1937 with a 3rd in History and became a barrister. In the summer of 1937, he married Denys Constance Le Maitre at St. Margaret’s Westminster. They had a son and a daughter. She remarried in 1948 and died in 1987.
At the outbreak of war, Ian and Denys were in the United States and arrived back at Southampton on the SS Manhattan on September 17th. The manifest gives their address as 22, Down Street, W. Shortly after, they moved to The Court House, West Meon, Hampshire where his mother died in 1942. After OCTU, he joined the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders and was seconded to The Parachute Regiment, A.A.C. In late 1943, a special group, 22 Independent Company was formed for the planned landings on the mainland of Europe.
On the night of 6 June1944, two planes left Brize Norton. The first was under the command of Major F.G. Lennox-Boyd who had graduated from Christ Church several years before Ian and was killed that day. Ian commanded the other plane. He was killed on 9 June. He was Mentioned in Despatches. He is buried in the Ranville War Cemetery Plot IVA. L. 11. He is commemorated on the War Memorial at West Meon'