My sister has just passed me a copy of the reply to a letter that she wrote to a cousin of ours back in December 1990. The cousin was the son of an aunt on my father's side of the family and we were not aware of his existence until my sister began looking at our family tree all those years ago. She was given a photograph of him in his bush hat by another cousin and was told that he was our cousin, Reg. Unknown to me, she wrote to him and he give a brief description of his time in Burma but without mentioning his unit by name and it would appear that he served with the RAF. If anything jumps out that might identify the unit from the scant details please let me know. "Where did you get that picture? What recollections it gives rise to. I have tons of shots with the RAF and of course in the years since. That shot by the way is a bit of a spruce. I think it was taken down the Arakan (the SE slope of coastline after the vee of India) and enjoying the relative luxury of rattan (dried and plaited banana leaves) huts. The webbing and revolver were officer's equipment and the kukri was a Ghurkha souvenir. The issue hat was a felt from Australia (after British topees we left England with). We were an Army Co-Op squadron of Hurricanes (and later Thunderbolt) fighter bombers." All of the following Squadrons flew Hurricanes and later Thunderbolts: NOs 5, 30, 34, 79, 123, 134, 135, 258 and 261. Of these only 123 Squadron had been an Army Co-Op squadron in the two years previous to their arrival in India - Burma. Between April and June 1945 they were based at Kyaukpyu on Ramree Island in the Arakan. The back of the photograph reads, "Yours Kindly, Reg. July 1944". Reginald Thomas Turner was born in 1921 and does not seem to have died before 2007 when the last available online BMD records run to. He may still be alive but could have passed away between then and now.
Yes, he lived in Coulsdon, Surrey. His mother was my Aunt May Turner, nee Jervis and his father was Augustus T Turner. They married in Windsor in 1917. I never met either of them. I can find no record that Reginald, who was born in Brentford, Middlesex ever married.
England & Wales, Birth Index, 1916-2005 Name: Reginald T Turner Mother's Maiden Surname: Jervis Date of Registration: Apr-May-Jun 1921 Registration district: Brentford Inferred County: Oxfordshire Volume Number: 3a Page Number: 375 I can at the moment only find his birth cert as above. Is it known if he returned to the UK after the war? without a death cert it may be difficult to obtain his service record TD
Yes, he definitely returned to England after the war as he wrote to my sister back in 1990. I found information about him being a director of the Lanchester and Daimler owner's club until the late 1990s but I have no idea if he is still alive. At this stage I am trying to work out which Squadron he served with and it seems that 123 Squadron is the most likely from his description. Simon.
Maybe a letter or email to the Lanchester and Daimler owner's club might provide some clues, whether he is still alive or roughly were he lived, or when he died even. Searching for a death results in 4 x Reginald Turner born 1921 - died at various dates (the others all have other initials to T, the results have no other initials shown i.e. there is no result for a Reginald T Turner) TD
The house that he lived in was sold in 2008 so he may well have died that year or moved into a care home at the very least.
I checked the RAF enlistment cards for Reginald Thomas Turner with no luck. I also searched the London Gazette for Reginald Thomas Turner with no result - he should be in there if he was commissioned or if he ever received an award. I also have tried the Air Force Lists at the National Library of Scotland’s website as per directions from Snailer on another recent thread ("Bomber Command") This is from the quarterly edition published in October 1944 where I see three possibilities Reginald Turner 128171 RTF Turner 114982 Reginald W Turner 140910 http://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/pageturner.cfm?id=96436546 If none of those match then it is possible that your relative wasn't commissioned, in fact do we know if he was aircrew? Going off the extract from the letter - "that shot by the way is a bit of a spruce" "the webbing and revolver were officer's equipment" I'm thinking he was dressed up for the photo, so no real clue on rank or trade.
Dave, many thanks for taking the time to look up the Air Force Lists for me. As you say we have no real clue as to what his rank was and I have no living relatives that knew him so there is no one to ask. The cousin who gave my sister the photograph died about ten years ago and my sister only showed me the letter about three weeks ago after I told her of my interest in the Burma campaign. I fear that it may be all too late to find anything but the outline of his time in India and Burma. Simon
I have had a reply from the Daimler and Lanchester Owner's Club and it has confirmed my expectations. Why do we always leave these things until it is too late? Hi Simon, Reg Turner unfortunately did die about 10 years ago. I got involved in valuing his Daimler sports car as the family were selling it. I never met them, only talked over the phone. The car was garaged in Wallington, so I only met the owner of the house, who was not a relative. I seen to remember an obituary in the club magazine. The editor Kevin Bennett may be able to forward a copy. Sorry I cannot be more help. Best regards Chris Surrey Branch Sec. DLOC