TURNER, James Frank Albert
| Service Number: | VX36612 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 July 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/12th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, 12 August 1918 |
| Home Town: | Launceston, Launceston, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer (Exolite Powder Coy) |
| Died: | Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, 3 October 1995, aged 77 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Carr Villa Memorial Park, Tasmania The Launceston Garden of Remembrance |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Tasmania (Launceston) Garden of Remembrance |
World War 2 Service
| 15 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX36612, 2nd/12th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Feb 1941: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX36612, 2nd/12th Infantry Battalion, embarked Melbourne for Palestine | |
| 18 May 1941: | Imprisoned MiA Tobruk 2/12 Btn –position over-run by enemy 14 Oct 1941: confirmed PoW No: 34412 (Italian List) Interned at Camp 57; Stalag VIII-A; Camp Derna; Camp 59 (new PoW No: 33671) | |
| 2 Oct 1945: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX36612, 2nd/12th Infantry Battalion, embarked UK for Melbourne on board the Otranto; hospitalised in Melbourne | |
| 30 Jan 1946: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX36612, 2nd/12th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Private James Frank Albert Turner (Service No:VX36612) enlisted in the AIF on 8 July 1940 and was posted to No 2 Training Battalion and then 18 Infantry Training Battalion. Private Turner was attached to 2/12 Infantry Battalion on 5 February 1941 when he embarked with his Unit from Melbourne for Palestine. On 18 May 1941 he was reported MiA at Tobruk when his position was over-run by the enemy. Confirmed a PoW (No:34412) in the Italian List on 14 October 1941, Private Turner was interned at Camp Derna, Camp 57, Stalag VIII and Camp 59, and assigned a new PoW No:33671. Recovered and returned to England on 26 May 1945, Private Turner embarked for Melbourne on 2 October 1945 on board the Otranto and was hospitalised in Melbourne. He was attached to 2/12 Infantry Battalion at Discharge on 30 January 1946.
Jim was born in Launceston, Tasmania in 1920, youngest of five children of Charles Henry Turner (b1883 in Carrick, Tasmania) and Jane Agnes Milne (b1883 in Stamford, Tasmania). Charles (a Baker's Apprentice) and Jane married in 1905 in Launceston, Tasmania where they settled and raised their family and Charles worked as a Labourer and Driver - and served in WWI.
Jim was working in Launceston as a Labourer for the Exolite Powder Coy when he enlisted in the Army in 1940. Following his recovery as a PoW, Jim was in Staffordshire, England in 1945 when he married Betty Doreen Maddox (b1924 in Staffordshire, England) - Betty was a Silk Worker in Wolverhampton. Jim returned to Melbourne in October 1945 and Betty arrived in 1946 on board the Stirling Castle. Jim and Betty settled in Launceston where they raised their family and Jim was a Labourer. Jim died in 1995 and Betty in 2009.
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