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Harold Turner


Harold Turner was the fourth son of William and Elizabeth Turner and his birth was registered in the Malton area in the first quarter of 1884. Elizabeth seems to have died in York in the second quarter of 1912.


IN 1891 William and Elizabeth lived with their eight children in Town Street, presumably at 21 as this is where they were for subsequent censuses.  Today, it seems a rather small house for ten people to live in.


1891 Census - resident at Town Street Old Malton
TURNER, William, Head, Married, M, 53, Joiner & Undertaker, Old Malton Yorkshire,
TURNER, Elizabeth, Wife, Married, F, 47, , New Malton Yorkshire,
TURNER, Mary J, Daughter, Single, F, 26, Dressmaker, Norton Yorkshire,
TURNER, Ada, Daughter, Single, F, 22, Dressmaker, Norton Yorkshire,
TURNER, Alice A, Daughter, Single, F, 18, Dressmaker, Old Malton Yorkshire,
TURNER, Herbert W, Son, Single, M, 16, Joiner Apprentice, Old Malton Yorkshire,
TURNER, Emily, Daughter, , F, 14, Scholar, Old Malton Yorkshire,
TURNER, Walter, Son, , M, 11, Scholar, Old Malton Yorkshire,
TURNER, Carrie, Daughter, , F, 9, Scholar, Old Malton Yorkshire,
TURNER, Harold, Son, , M, 7, Scholar, Old Malton Yorkshire,


1901 saw the family living at 21 Town Street though some of the children had moved out  and they were still there in 1911 with the three youngest children.


1901 Census - resident at 21 Town Street Old Malton
TURNER, William, Head, Married, M, 63, Joiner, Malton Yorkshire,
TURNER, Elizabeth, Wife, Married, F, 57, , Malton Yorkshire,
TURNER, Mary J, Daughter, Single, F, 36, Dressmaker, Malton Yorkshire,
TURNER, Herbert W, Son, Single, M, 26, Joiner, Malton Yorkshire,
TURNER, Walter, Son, Single, M, 21, Joiner, Malton Yorkshire,
TURNER, Carrie, Daughter, Single, F, 19, , Malton Yorkshire,
TURNER, Harold, Son, Single, M, 17, Commercial Clerk, Malton Yorkshire,


1911 Census - resident at 21 Town Street Old Malton
TURNER, William, Head, Married, M, 73, Joiner, Yorkshire Malton,
TURNER, Elizabeth, Wife, Married 47 years, F, 67, , Yorkshire Malton,
TURNER, Mary Jane, Daughter, Single, F, 46, Dressmaker, Yorkshire Malton,
TURNER, Carrie, Daughter, Single, F, 29, Dressmaker, Yorkshire Malton,
TURNER, Harold, Son, Single, M, 27, Clerk Not In Employ, Yorkshire Malton,


For ten years Harold was employed as a clerk in the Malton Manure Company and was well-known and respected in the town. In March 1916 he enlisted, probably along with Harry Smith, and went into the 5th Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment with him.  After the Battalion’s baptism of fire at Ypres they were posted to the Somme and on the 10th Sep 1916 left Millencourt for the Trenches in front of Bazentin Le Petit.  The Battle of the Somme had been raging since the 1st July and by the 31st August the Germans had been pushed back, but only at the expense of severe losses. The 50th Division had been ordered to take over the Front line to the North and North East of Bazentin Le Petit.
On the 15th of September the Battle of Flers-Courcelettes started. Losses were catastrophic and with only minimal advances on the southern flank, the initial attack was a failure. In the following weeks, huge resources of manpower and equipment were deployed in an attempt to exploit the modest successes of the first day. However, the German Army resisted tenaciously and repeated attacks and counter attacks meant a major battle for every village, copse and farmhouse gained.  The casualties were horrendous, especially over the first four days, and continued to be heavy.


On the 21st September Harold wrote to his parents to re-assure them of his safety, adding “We have had a taste of war lately – been in the trenches – and on Friday morning September 15th went over the bags to charge the Huns. A terrible experience it was too. It was a most awful sight for us all… But we reached our objective. We had the serious misfortune to lose our colonel the night before we went over, he being killed. He was a grand gentleman and beloved by all his men. The only way to punish the Hun is to keep attacking and trying to gain ground, bit by bit. We are out for a bit, but may have to go up any time. The weather is rather trying, blowing and raining. We live in hopes for the best.” On 24th September 1916 Harold Turner was killed in action and his body was buried where he fell and not subsequently recovered.  


As one of those with no known grave he is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.  The Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bears the names of more than 72,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave. Over 90% of those commemorated died between July and November 1916. The memorial also serves as an Anglo-French Battle Memorial in recognition of the joint nature of the 1916 offensive and a small cemetery containing equal numbers of Commonwealth and French graves lies at the foot of the memorial. The memorial, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, was built between 1928 and 1932 and unveiled by the Prince of Wales, in the presence of the President of France, on 1 August 1932.