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The combination of apples and pears would give it a very distinctive flavour. Thank you.

Thank you. That is a great help. I will look at the mixed fruit option. I suspect that the jam was made up of whatever was available. As you point out plums probably made up a significant amount of the mixed fruit. I will ask about the stones.

During the Blitz my late father's family moved from Portsmouth to Taunton having been bombed out twice in ten days. His only surviving brother has always had a liking for plum jam. I gave my uncle a jar of home made jam yesterday evening and he then started telling us about his quest. This is the first time we have heard this story. It seems that he has spent the best part of seventy-seven years trying to find a plum jam like that he tasted in Taunton. It seems every type he has tried has been lacking in the special taste. He cannot remember if the Taunton jam was bought in a shop. Although he does know that it was not rationed. Needless to say we sat there speculating as to what the hidden ingredient might have been or if it was produced by the Women's Institute.

So, are there any experts around who know about cooking at this time? Or, someone who is an expert on local cooking? If so, please could you suggest what the special taste was created by?

He has a significant birthday next year. It just might make it into the cake! Thank you.

When I mentioned this On Twitter I received a reply from FindMyPast saying to contact them and say that I wanted a subscription for just one month. It is worth a try.

The coordinator of the database for the Friends of Newport and Carisbrooke cemeteries has sent me the details of the newspaper article mentioning John Taylor

Fife Herald Thurs 23 Dec 1875

Drowned in the river Orell, New Zealand, on the 30th of last August, William Graham Taylor, 3rd son of the late Lt Col John Taylor, HEICS, Bengal at one time resident in St Andrews.

So, I think that answers the question as to what happened to William Graham Taylor. It also proves that the man who died on the Isle of Wight was the son of Monkhouse Graham Taylor.