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Lance Corporal Montagu Alweyne Fisher TURNER (3532)
2nd Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers Date of birth: 3rd July 1892 Date of death: 25th April 1915 Killed in action aged 22 Buried at Bedford House Cemetery Enclosure No.4 XVI Row A Grave 9
Montagu Alweyne Fisher Turner was born at Gulmery, Kashmir in India on the 3rd of July 1892 the fifth son of Alweyne Turner, a barrister at law and late Government Advocate of Lahore, and Violet Frances (nee Thorp) Turner of 34 “The Goffs”, Eastbourne in Sussex. He was christened at Shrinagar, Kashmir on the 5th of September 1892. He was educated at Lancing College where he was in News House from September 1905 to December 1909. He was a Sergeant in the Officer Training Corps, was a member of the Swimming VI from 1906 to 1909 and was appointed as a House Captain in 1909. On leaving school he went to work for the Bank of England. He enlisted as a regular soldier in London on the 14th of April 1913 and, following the outbreak of war, he embarked with his battalion at Southampton on board the SS "Australind" on the 16th of January 1915, landing at Havre at 9.30am the following morning. From the 17th of April 1915 the British troops holding Hill 60 at Ypres had been coming under increasing pressure from German counterattacks. On the 20th of April they asked for additional reinforcement and this arrived in the form of the 2nd Battalion bomb throwers led by 2nd Lieutenant Walton. As soon as they arrived they were sent forward to assist the 2nd Battalion Cameron Highlanders on Hill 60 itself. For the next two days the Northumberland bombers distinguished themselves with Montagu Turner earning a special commendation from the General Officer Commanding 15th Brigade. A writer in the regimental journal wrote:- “It is only necessary to record two or three instances of gallantry displayed by our comrades to show what our men are, when it comes to the crucial point, and these are only a few of many. The first to be mentioned is the gallantry of our bomb throwers under Lance Corporal M. Turner during the attack at Hill 60 on the 21st -22nd of April. They went to work like one man, and soon had the enemy on the move. The coolness and bravery of Turner was one outstanding feature and we believe he was highly commended for the excellent work performed by his bomb throwing party.“ At 5pm on the 22nd of April the Germans launched the first gas attack, which fell against a line held by French colonial troops further along the Ypres Salient. The 2nd Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers were moved to trenches at Zonnebeke where they endured shelling for the next two days. At 4am on the 24th of April the Germans renewed their gas attacks against the Canadians which, after fierce resistance, resulted in a German breakthrough. At Zonnebeke, Major E.M. Moulton-Barrett of the Northumberland Fusiliers formed a detachment of a mixture of battalions including one and a half companies of the 2nd Battalion and took up positions to the south east of the crossroads Zonnebeke-Langemark-Gravenstafel-Wietje. Finding the area clear of enemy troops he then moved his force to the north of the Haanebeke stream. Almost as soon as they arrived there they were attacked in force but managed to drive the enemy off. By dawn on the 25th the unit was in a new position near Boetleer's Farm but was soon ordered back to the crossroads they had held the previous day. Here they came under heavy artillery fire and it was while holding these trenches that Montagu Turner was shot through the head by a sniper and killed.

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