TURNER, Leonard Woodward
| Service Number: | 177 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 September 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Trooper |
| Last Unit: | 10th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Macclesfield, England, 6 September 1884 |
| Home Town: | Cuballing, Cuballing, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Albany SS |
| Occupation: | Storekeeper |
| Died: | Illness (Pneumonia), Greece, 27 July 1915, aged 30 years |
| Cemetery: |
East Mudros Military Cemetery II B 29, East Mudros Military Cemetery, Mudros, Lemnos, Aegean Islands, Greece |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Cuballing War Memorial, Kings Park 10th Light Horse Regiment Memorial WA |
World War 1 Service
| 30 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 177, 10th Light Horse Regiment | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Feb 1915: | Involvement Private, 177, 10th Light Horse Regiment, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '3' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Mashobra embarkation_ship_number: A47 public_note: '' | |
| 8 Feb 1915: | Embarked Private, 177, 10th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Mashobra, Fremantle | |
| 27 Jul 1915: | Involvement Trooper, 177, 10th Light Horse Regiment, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 177 awm_unit: 10 Light Horse Regiment awm_rank: Trooper awm_died_date: 1915-07-27 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of Frederick and Emily TURNER
Turner's General Store in Alton Street was under the proprietorship of Frederick Turner and his son, Leonard. The Turners were originally from Macclesfield, England, having come to Australia when Leonard was four years old. Leonard grew up in Australia, attending the Model School, Glenelg, in South Australia and the Collegiate School, Albany. He was sporty, having been a member of the lacrosse club and sailing club in Holdfast Bay and the rifle club in Cuballing.
With the 'call to arms' of eligible men following the declaration of war, Leonard was quick to put up his hand, applying to enlist at the end of September 1914. He passed his medical, which described him as five feet six inches tall and 132 pounds with brown eyes, reddish hair and a fair complexion. His horse riding skills were solid. He was a single man, 30 years old and of the Methodist faith. Having sworn an Oath of Allegiance before Captain Thomas Todd at the Royal Agricultural Grounds, Claremont, three days before Christmas, Leonard was appointed Trooper 177, A Squadron, 10th Australian Light Horse Regiment.
Trooper Turner sailed from Fremantle with his regiment on February 8, 1915 aboard His Majesty's Australian Transport (HMAT) A47 Mashobra. The next day, the Mashobra made rendezvous west of Rottnest Island with three other ships, the Chilka, the Hessen and the Clan MacGillivray, which held other units of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade and infantry reinforcements. The convoy of four ships proceeded via Colombo, Suez and Port Said to Alexandria, Egypt. Whilst traversing the Suez Canal, the ship-bound Australians sighted Indian troops ashore who had recently repelled Turkish attacks aimed at seizing the Canal. This resulted in hearty patriotic cheering from the troops aboard ship for the Indian defenders of the Suez Canal. The Indian troops were magnanimous in returning cheers to the Australians aboard their transport vessels.
On March 9, by train, on foot and by electric tramcar, the men and their kits, horses and equipment moved into Mena Camp, within sight of the Pyramids, where further training was to be undertaken. At the end of April, the 3rd Light Horse Brigade, including the 10th Light Horse Regiment, moved to Heliopolis as news of the Gallipoli landings reached Egypt and then as the wounded from Gallipoli began to arrive.
Following the decision that the 10th would serve on Gallipoli as infantry and leaving their horses behind in Egypt, the 10th Light Horse Regiment sailed on May 16, 1915 for the Dardanelles aboard a captured North-German Lloyd steamer, Lutzow, now designated HMAT A25.
On May 19, Leonard was with the 10th LHR at anchor off Anzac Cove as the Turks launched a major counteroffensive on the ANZAC positions, accompanied by heavy rifle, machine gun and artillery fire. Disembarkation began two days later, whilst the enemy artillery brought shrapnel fire to bear on the Lutzow and then on to the destroyers Chelmer and Rattlesnake, as they carried the regiment towards the beach.
The 10th Light Horse Regiment took up positions near Plugge's Plateau and, subsequently, at Monash Gully. By the end of May, A Squadron were defending Quinn's Post against concerted enemy attacks and, on June 4, the regiment marched to reserve positions near Walker's Ridge.
Apart from enemy artillery and sniper fire, the growing summer heat, flies, poor sanitation and debility among the men saw increasing numbers being lost to disease. By July 20, Leonard was ill with influenza and was evacuated to Number 15 Stationery Hospital Mudros, on the Greek island of Lemnos. However, his condition rapidly deteriorated to pneumonia. Trooper Leonard Turner, the son of Frederick and Emily Turner of Cuballing, died on July 27, 1915. He was buried at East Mudros Cemetery No 29 by the chaplain.
Leonard's effects were returned to his father by the Thomas Cook Company in two packages. There contained in the first package his disc, soap box, knife, glass and handkerchief and in the second package his writing case, letters, cards, photos and two badges. On the 'circular' sent to next of kin for the Roll of Honour of Australia in the War Memorial Museum, Frederick commented in relation to his son, Leonard: "He was the first to enlist from Cuballing W.A. (1914) and the first to fall".
Courtesy of Stephen Bowes
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