TURNER, Frank Laurence (Loseby)
| Service Number: | 519 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 July 1916, R.A.S.G., Sydney |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 5th Machine Gun Battalion |
| Born: | Corryong, Victoria, Australia, 1895 |
| Home Town: | Tintaldra, Towong, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Athlete/Dairy Hand/Clerk |
| Died: | New South Wales, 30 January 1988, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Cudgewa War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 10 Jul 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 519, R.A.S.G., Sydney | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 519, 5th Machine Gun Company, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' | |
| 23 Nov 1916: | Embarked Private, 519, 5th Machine Gun Company, HMAT Hororata, Melbourne | |
| 8 Mar 1918: | Honoured Mention in Dispatches, Recommended "For meritorious service and devotion to duty during the period 22nd September 1917 to 25th February 1918" by C.O. 25th M.G.CO. | |
| 16 Mar 1918: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 5th Machine Gun Battalion | |
| 20 May 1918: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 5th Machine Gun Battalion | |
| 30 Jul 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Sergeant, 519, Remained on Duty | |
| 18 Sep 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Sergeant, 519, 5th Machine Gun Battalion, 2nd Occasion, GSW left thigh and forearm | |
| 4 Jan 1919: | Embarked AIF WW1, Sergeant, 519, 5th Machine Gun Battalion, RTA per Morvada (invalid), disembarked Melbourne 20-2-1919 | |
| 28 Sep 1920: | Discharged AIF WW1, Sergeant, 519, 5th Machine Gun Battalion |
Help us honour Frank Laurence (Loseby) Turner's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Karen Standen
The name on Frank's Victorian birth registration is Jos Loseby Turner (#19976/1895). He appears to be the seventh child or fourth son of John Turner and Francis Margaret Turner (nee Osmond), farmers from the Upper Murray, or more specifically, Tintaldra.
Enlisting as Frank Laurence Turner in Sydney in 1916, he is referred to as Sgt. L. Turner in the local newspaper two years later. "Last week also Mr and Mrs J. Turner, of Tintaldra, received notification from the Defence Department that their son, Sergt. L. Turner, had been wounded. He had just been promoted to the rank of sergeant. Sergeant Turner is the third of the family to be wounded, one of his brothers having been killed." Corryong Courier, 22 August 1918 (nla.gov.au).
Six weeks later, Frank was wounded a second time and invalided back to Australia in the New Year.
On the 23 December 1919, still in the A.I.F., Sergeant Frank Loseby Turner married his sweetheart (NSW Marriage 14940/1919). The details provided in the "quite military wedding" article published in The Sun, 08 February 1920 (nla.gov.au) clearly identifies the bridegroom as having seen "three years active service in 5th M.G. Battalion," and being "the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Turner, of Tintaldra, Upper Murray, Victoria." Settling in Chatswood, Frank and Hilda named their home "Tintaldra".
The final entry in Frank's service file notates his death as the 30 January 1988. This also correlates with the NSW death registration 5089/1988 for Frank Loseby Turner.
Frank's three older brothers all applied to enlist in the A.I.F.. William Ely Turner was rejected as medically unfit (Corryong Courier, 21 June 1917), while John Robert Turner 2162 and Alfred James Turner 2942 were successful. The latter was killed in action three weeks after arriving in France. Interestingly, it is only Alfred (Turner, A.*) and Frank (Turner, L.) who are listed on the Cudgewa, Tintaldra and Wabba War Memorial.