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Keith was the second son of four children, Ross Telford, Keith, David and Norma born to Telford and Rose Hannah Turnbull. He was born on the 10th November 1921 but when he eventually enlisted, he added three years to his age, claiming to be born in November, 1918 at Bowden. (His older brother, Ross was born in May 1919, making for an interesting pregnancy had records been checked.) The children lived in an area then called Bowden-on-Hill a northern suburb of Adelaide.
Keith was a confident boy who as a twelve-year-old witnessed his four-year-old sister, Norma jump from a lorry and be run over by an empty trailer in front of their home in Gilbert street, Bowden-on-the-Hill. Thirteen-year-old Ross and nine-year-old David also witnessed the accident. Norma was immediately taken to the Children’s Hospital with serious internal injuries. Later the Hospital reported that her injuries were ‘dangerous’. The nine cwt, two wheeled trailer was equipped with pneumatic rubber tyres which perhaps prevented fatal injuries. Keith was interviewed by the Mail, describing how “When it started, I saw Norma and Lennie Brown, who is six, holding on to the side of the lorry. They were standing on the running board and were holding a hurdle on the top. I called to them to get off when the lorry started. Norma jumped but fell on the road and rolled under the trailer, which ran over her. She got up and started to walk, and then staggered and fell. I ran to her. Her face went blue, and I carried her to our gate and got her a drink of water. Then Mum carried her into the house.”
Post school, Keith gained work as a labourer. His older brother, 21-year-old Ross, a truck driver, was the first to enlist on the 7th May 1940. He was given the number SX2623 and served in the 2/9th Battalion in the Middle East and the Northern Territory. Interestingly, he later made Keith as his supplementary next of kin and Keith did the same once he arrived in the Middle East. Younger brother, 19-year-old David first served as S44951 before being called up in January ’42, becoming SX20400 in the 16 Australian Maintenance Platoon. He served in several Australian states including Western Australia, New South Wales and at Terowie in the mid-north.
Claiming to be 21, 18-year-old Keith enlisted on the 3rd July 1940 and was allocated the number SX7691 in the newly formed 2/48th Battalion. Soon after in January the following year, Keith announced his engagement to Vida Irene. ‘MACKENZIE—TURNBULL.—The engagement is announced of Vida I. youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. Mackenzie, of 12 Murray Street, Gawler. to Keith (AIF. Palestine), second son of Mr. and Mrs. T. Turnbull, of John street, Hindmarsh.’
Army life was not as expected by Keith. Within three months of overseas service, he was facing numerous charges, including being absent without leave, leaving his post plus being drunk and unfit for duty. This also included an incident during the brief stay at Freemantle in Western Australia when both Keith and his brother Ross, in their separate battalions, sailed on the Stratheden for the Middle East on the 5th November ’40. Despite frequently being fined and confined to barracks, this behaviour continued to mark Keith’s time in the Army.
By the 29th July ’41 Keith received news of his daughter’s birth back home. That year was also heavily marred by Keith’s absenteeism, drunkenness and resultantly being confined to barracks for six days, plus twelve days of field punishment. That, plus loss of pay had little effect on his behaviour. 1942 saw Keith’s behaviour escalate as the 20-year-old reacted to war conditions. Time ordered as a punishment by being Confined to Barracks also continued to increase to 28 days and loss of pay to 29 days. Keith’s physical health was also affected by a high fever which accompanied several of these punishments. However, just prior to the Battalion returning to Australia, Keith was promoted to Corporal.
Disembarking in Melbourne, Keith returned to Adelaide where he married Vida Mackenzie on the 7th February ’43. Training in Queensland followed, preparing the battalion for the heat and humidity they would encounter in New Guinea against a very different enemy. With the knowledge of being again sent overseas and facing the conditions of war, Keith went AWL for over two months from the end of March ’43 until the 18th May. He faced a Court Martial at the start of July ’43, inevitably being found guilty, being reduced to the ranks with and additional combined 90 days of field punishment and loss of pay for the same length of time.
Poor health, including an extremely high temperature (Pyrexia of Unknown Origin), Malaria and dengue fever marked Keith’s time in New Guinea that year until his return to Australia via Brisbane. The following year was again marked with tropical illness and the habitual absence without leave.
May ’44 malaria forced Keith to be treated in the Bowen Civil Hospital. This was followed by Dengue fever and very high temperatures (Pyrexia of Unknown Origin) and repeated bouts of malaria but his return to the battalion in the last months of that year was, again, marked by poor conduct and fines, including a huge 96 days’ of pay.
By March ’45 Keith was training on the Atherton Tableland in Queensland. Fortuitously, a group portrait of No 15 Platoon, C Company, 2/48th Battalion was taken, which included Keith. He then left for time in Morotai with the rank of Lance Corporal. When highly respected Lieutenant General Sir Leslie Morshead visited Tarakan in May that year, a video was taken as he moved about the camp. Part of the footage included Keith, SX32801 Pte Alan Gerrard and SX33180 Pte Edward Sheridan, all of "C" Company, 2/48th Australian Infantry Battalion, as they prepared to erect their tent on Collins Ridge.
The jungle conditions and the steep terrain around Tarakan made for challenging fighting conditions. A lengthy article in the Advertiser on the 8th May ’45 detailed how the Australians took Ripon Ridge and the airport after five days of heavy and incessant fighting. It was a significant victory for the Australians. ‘That night the troops who had won the airstrip enjoyed their first night of unbroken rest since they had landed on Tarakan at dawn last Tuesday. They forgot their weariness, their sweat-sodden clothes and unshaven faces in the cheer they gave as they watched the Australian flag and their own battalion emblem being hoisted over the strip.’
A further observation was made by a soldier that ‘I came up through the town passing along a line of natives flowing back through our lines. We have now 6,000 of them under our care of many races—Chinese, Javanese, and others—whom for the sake of simplicity, we class as Indonesians. Most of them lived in the town before we came and fled to the hills when the battle for the island began. They have been coming in every day since then, pathetically eager for food, care and safety. Among them have come a number of Dykas, who, for all I know, may be the wild men of Borneo. They wear nothing but a loin cloth, their black hair draped down over their shoulders and the lobes of their ears stretched and slit. I have an idea that the Japanese must have left them severely alone.’
Keith was one of those soldiers interviewed about the many tense, and dramatic encounters during the fighting on Tarakan. On most of the ridges, so thick is in the undergrowth that our own men and enemy patrols have come face to face before either was aware of the other's presence. “Pte. Bill Bloomfield, of Eumundi, Qld., and Pte. Keith Turnbull, of Gawler, SA, saved each other's lives in two sudden encounters on the one day. The two men were making their way along a razorback ridge when Turnbull almost stepped on a sleeping Japanese. The Japanese woke up and brought up his rifle to fire. Turnbull's gun mis-fired and he slipped. Before the Japanese could fire, Bloomfield shot him over Turnbull's head. A little later Bloomfield, leading the way along the track, came upon another Japanese. This time he slipped and Turnbull shot the Japanese.“
Soon after on the 24th May, Keith was extremely fortunate to survive with a penetrating wound to his scalp. In his book Tobruk to Tarakan, John Glenn described that attack on Knoll 2 which was being blasted with napalm, firebombs and high explosives by our planes. “Under cover of this fire 16 Platoon of D Company traversed some extremely rugged country where a razor-back ridge made it impossible to deploy more than two men forward in the approach to Track Junction Knoll. Both this platoon and 17 Platoon, who had edged themselves forward, came under fire from the objective, and a section leader was killed.’ Highly decorated, Sgt Diver Derrick was killed just two days afterwards. This news was published in the Advertiser, June ’45.
The July ’45 issue of the Chronicle included the list of those from the 2/48th who were involved. Killed In Action. — SX18O85 L-Cpl. Linus. J. Corcoran, Millicent. Died Of Wounds.— SX7964 Lt. Thomas C. Derrick. VC. DCM, Berri; SX17803 Pte. William (Jack) Giddings, Naracoorte. Dangerously Wounded. — SX30687 Pte Steven R. Buck Seaton Park; SX15368 L-Cpl. John K. Walsh, Spalding. Wounded In Action.— SX7670 Pte. Colin R. Aplin, Mornington SX15415 Cpl. Lindsay G. Bradford, Rose Park; SX19253 Pte. Geoffrey F. Chapman, Unley Park; SX7642 Pte. Donald J. Kerin, Burra; SX15505 L-Cpl. William B. Tremain, Payneham and SX7691 Cpl. Keith Turnbull, Bowden.
The June issue of the Advertiser ’45 shared that ‘Mrs. K. Turnbull, of Murray street, Gawler, has received advice that her husband, Cpl. K. Turnbull, was wounded in action at Tarakan cm May 24. Cpl. Turnbull is the second son of Mr. and Mrs. T. Turnbull. of Gilbert street. Hillside. ‘ In the meantime, Keith had immediately been treated by field ambulance, before returning to Australia via Brisbane for further treatment.
He was amongst many wounded South Australian to return from New Guinea to a tumultuous welcome. A June issue of the News reported that “Wounded South Australians who arrived home from the islands were given a most enthusiastic welcome by relatives at Adelaide Railway Station today. The excitement began when the express pulled in under the Morphett Street Bridge, and the heads of several waving diggers could be seen protruding from the windows of the hospital car. Then there was a rush as the train pulled up as relatives made for the windows to find their men. The men themselves, despite copious bandages and slings and foot scaffolding, were uniformly cheerful and patently glad to be back home. Then there were repeated all the war-long scenes as relatives gathered close to say all the things they had been storing up so long and couldn't think where to begin, and those who were too happy to say anything at all. The conversations continued as stretcher-bearers unshipped the wounded and carefully carried them to waiting ambulances in the station yard, where farewells were said until the time when they could be visited in hospital or, better still, welcomed home on leave.”
Almost immediately, Keith absented himself for a fortnight and inevitably, forfeited 12 day’s pay. Younger brother, David was the first to be discharged on the 23rd March ’45, followed by Ross on the 6th November that year. Keith was the last of the brothers to be discharged on the 12th November ’45, two days after turning 24 years of age.
Within eighteen months, Keith’s 54-year-old father Telford died in hospital in April ’47. Rose lived to be 71 and died in June ’62. Keith’s young brother, David pre-deceased his siblings and died aged 50. His remains were placed with his parents in the Hindmarsh Cemetery.
Keith found employment as a truck driver but was fortunate to escape serious personal damage when he failed to negotiate the Williamstown and Gawler Road intersection at Lyndoch crashing into a weighbridge in March ’46 and pulled up 35 yds. further on. The weighbridge superstructure and house were wrecked. The truck also sustained damage with the left mudguards and running board bent, and the hood broken. Keith’s passenger was thrown out but fortunately was unhurt. Keith was fined £7/10/-, with £1/14/- in costs, for having driven a motor utility without due care and £1 for having driven with ineffective brakes. Another fortuitous escape for Keith.
Vida Irene and Keith soon welcomed their daughter at the Hutchinson Hospital in Gawler in February ’48. However, the marriage floundered as by February1950 Vida were granted a divorce from Keith. She continued to live in Gawler while Keith returned to Bowden.
In a poignant letter written in May ’69 from Mt Burr Keith’s son, Anthony applied for the medals to which his father was entitled.
Aged 65, Keith died at Kilburn on the 23rd June ’86. Despite, or because of his war service, he was buried at Centennial Park Cemetery with a plaque being placed on the RSL Wall 122, Niche E007. Ross, who died just two days prior to his 80th birthday, in May 2000 also now rests at Centennial Park in the Rose Gardens with his wife, Bernice nearby.
Researched and written by Kaye Lee, daughter of Bryan Holmes SX8133, 2/48th Battalion.