A FORMER Royal Navy pilot who has written his autobiography in a trilogy of books has been co-opted as a Salisbury city councillor.

Chris Taylor, 66, will represent the St Paul's ward alongside Samuel Charleston and Victoria Charleston, who are both Liberal Democrats.

The Conservative will fill a vacancy created when Lynne Blackwood was dismissed from the city council after she failed to attend in-person meetings due to ill health.

He will be in post until the city council elections in May 2025.

Mr Taylor, who has lived near Victoria Park since 1996, was one of three applicants who spoke for three minutes at a full council meeting on Monday night to win the votes of existing councillors.

Doinita Bolea was eliminated after the first round of voting, and Mr Taylor beat Philippa Dragonetti in the second round of voting.

Two others – Mrs Blackwood and Jonathan Davis – were listed as applicants on the meeting agenda but were not present on the night.

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In his speech, Mr Taylor, said: “I'm the sort of person wired to care about my community. This chance to become a city councillor seems an ideal opportunity.

“Being a test pilot is far more about working with people than planes. 

“Politically, I am more than happy to be labelled a Tory, and I'm proud that we have elected a black leader (Kemi Badenoch).”

He was previously a member of Labour and Greenpeace. His main aims are to promote safe cycle routes and support the work of the Save Old Sarum initiative.

He has also been involved in the work of St Paul's and St Francis churches.

Mr Taylor gained his private pilot's licence when he was 17 and then started his career in the Navy.

He said that “included numerous adventures like being kidnapped by a French Trawler and surviving an engine failure in his Wasp”.

In 1994, he was appointed to the Empire Test Pilots' School at Boscombe Down to train to become a test pilot. 

He spent another decade at Boscombe Down, where he experienced engine failures in a Hawk jet and a Basset aeroplane and “managed to crash a Westland Scout helicopter”.

Mr Taylor then worked for the UK Civil Aviation Authority for 10 years before setting up his own limited company offering test flying services worldwide.

He says he “suffered numerous close shaves” in that time, in which he wrote his three books (Test Pilot, Experimental Test Pilot and Naval Aviator).