Mr Bernard Cuthbert Taylor was born in Arundel, Sussex, England on 31 December 1889.

He was the son of Henry Walmsley Taylor (b. 1844 in Sedgley, Worcestershire) and Mary Budd (b. 1856 in Boxgrove, Sussex) who were marred on 6 July 1874. His father, a domestic gardener, was for many years also a custodian at the Church of St Philip Neri in Arundel (now Arundel Cathedral). 

One of eleven children, Bernard's siblings were: Jane Eliza (b. 1876), Archibald (b. 1877), Elizabeth (b. 1879), Philip Thomas John (b. 1881), Marie Louise (b. 1884), Bruno Henry Edward (b. 1886), Henry Vincent Walmsley (b. 1888), Dorothy Josephine (b. 1892), Kathleen Margaret (b. 1895) and Timothy Harold Wilfred (b. 1896).

The family appear to have moved around different addresses in Sussex frequently, ranging from homes in Worthing, Waringcamp, and Arundel but would make the latter their home. When Bernard first appears on the 1891 census he and his family were living at 16 Bond Street in Arundel and he would live at the same address for the rest of his life, although he would be absent from the 1911 census, presumably being at sea at that time.

After his schooling, Taylor briefly worked as a grocer’s assistant. He enlisted with the Royal Navy on 18 October 1905, serving aboard the St Vincent for just shy of a month before being invalided on account on account of his troublesome dentition. Of very good conduct, he stood at 5' 3¼" and had brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He sported two tattoos: a face on his right forearm and an anchor on the corresponding limb. He presumably went straight into the merchant service following his discharge and served with the White Star Line, working aboard Teutonic for several voyages. He later transferred to Olympic and was aboard that ship when she collided with HMS Hawke. 

When he signed-on to the Titanic on 4 April 1912, Taylor gave his address as 5 Oxford Street, Southampton, a boarding address. His previous ship had been the Olympic and as a third class steward he received monthly wages of £3, 15s.

Bernard Cuthbert Taylor died in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified. His death is commemorated with a brass plaque in Arundel Cathedral.

His brother Bruno, also a seafarer, served in the Royal Navy during World War I and he was killed in action on 2 May 1918 when the ship he was serving aboard, Bombala, was torpedoed off the west coast of Africa.

His father later died in 1929 and his mother in 1933.