Cecil Edward TURNER

TURNER, Cecil Edward

Service Number: 7561
Enlisted: 27 July 1917
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 10th Infantry Battalion
Born: Hamley Bridge, South Australia , 18 September 1884
Home Town: Adelaide, South Australia
Schooling: Sturt Street School, Adelaide, South Australia
Occupation: Farmer
Died: Killed in Action, France, 24 April 1918, aged 33 years
Cemetery: Meteren Military Cemetery
Meteren Military Cemetery, Meteren, Nord Pas de Calais, France
Memorials: Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Cummins War Memorial, Prospect Roll of Honour A-G WWI Board, Tumby Bay War Memorial
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World War 1 Service

27 Jul 1917: Enlisted
30 Oct 1917: Involvement Private, 7561, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: ''
30 Oct 1917: Embarked Private, 7561, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Aeneas, Melbourne

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Biography contributed by Geoffrey Stewart

Ted was born on 18 Sep 1884 at Hamley Bridge (SA) to William George Turner and Catherine (Katherine) Turner (nee Abbott).  He was the second eldest of 6 children in the family, 4 boys and 2 girls.  His father was a carpenter/builder in the Adelaide Plains area, between Gawler and Hamley Bridge, where he also had a small holding.

Ted went to school at Sturt Street, Adelaide, leaving at grade 7. On completion of schooling he took employ with his father and also worked on the family farm. On 27 Feb 1913 he married Louisa Jane Brown in Adelaide.The couple had two children, both boys, prior to Ted’s joining the Army. On enlistment in the Army on 28 Jul 1917 he gave his address as Portland (SA), his occupation as farmer and next of kin as his wife.

Ted reported to Mitcham for processing on 30 Jul 1917 and was then sent to 2nd Depot Battalion (Bn) for training; during his training he was allocated to 25th Reinforcements/ 10th Bn on 15 Aug 1917.

At the completion of training on 27 Oct 1917 he entrained for Melbourne for embarkation. Three days later he embarked at Melbourne aboard HMAT “Aeneas” bound for UK, disembarking at Devonport (UK) on 27 Dec 1917 and moving to Southern Veny (UK) for further training. On 8 Feb 1918 he was admitted to hospital with Rheumatism, where he remained until 15 Feb 1918.

On 1 Apr 1918 he embarked from South Hampton for France, disembarking at Calais. A week later he was taken on strength by his unit (10th Bn).

The 10th Bn was among the first infantry units raised for the AIF during WW1; the Bn was recruited in South Australia. It was the first ashore at Gallipoli on 25 Apr 1915. In Mar 1916 the Bn arrived on the Western Front

In Mar and Apr 1918 the 10th Bn helped halt the German Spring Offensive and was then involved in the operations leading up to the Allied counter-offensive. It was during these actions, known as the Fourth Battle of Ypres, that Ted joined his unit. Fourteen days after being taken on strength by his unit he was killed in action on 24 Apr 1918. He was buried at Meteren Military Cemetery in France, which is located 17.5 Km south west of Ieper (Belgium), alongside 38 others from 10th Bn.

Meteren Military Cemetery now contains 768 Commonwealth burials and commemorations of the First World War; 180 of the burials are unidentified

Then began the usual hiatus of notifying next of kin: On 5 Jan 1922 his wife received the Memorial Scroll and three copies of photos of her husband’s grave. Two years later (9 Jun 1924) she finally received his medals, but only after they had been returned from the address previously recorded. The passage of information was not helped by the fact that Ted’s wife had changed location several times, without notifying authorities, and also remarried after his death.

 

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