Charles Turner (11 March 1862 – 20 May 1926) was an English

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er and

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer. Turner's

batting Batting may refer to: * Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs * Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...

and

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), thou ...

styles are unknown. He was born in Gringley-on-the-Hill, Nottinghamshire and died at Thatcham House,

Thatcham Thatcham is an historic market town and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, centred 3 miles (5 km) east of Newbury, 14 miles (24 km) west of Reading and 54 miles (87 km) west of London. Geography Thatcham straddles t ...

, Berkshire.

Cricket

Turner made his first-class debut for

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

against

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

in 1886. He played a further first-class match in 1886 against Sussex, before making a final appearance in 1889 against

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

. He scored 33 runs in his 3 matches, at a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of 6.60, with a high score of 17. He took 3 wickets with the ball, coming at 39.66 runs a piece, with best figures of 1/16.

Personal life

Prior to playing cricket, Turner was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the

Royal Berkshire Regiment The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment), b ...

. Turner was a proficient sketcher and reporter, as reported by his commanding officer on 29 November 1882. The same year he served in the

Egyptian campaign The French campaign in Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) was Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in the Ottoman territories of Egypt and Syria, proclaimed to defend French trade interests, to establish scientific enterprise in the region. It was the pr ...

. The following year he undertook training at the

School of Musketry The Small Arms School Corps (SASC) is a small corps of the British Army, established in 1853 by Lord Hardinge. Its personnel provide advice and instruction to infantry weapon trainers throughout the army, in order to maintain proficiency in th ...

in Hythe, Kent, where he became qualified to instruct the theory and practice of Musketry. He was promoted Major in 1901 and retired from the army in 1902. It was in the latter year that he purchased Thatcham House which was to be his home for the remainder of his life. He was re-employed in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as Railway Transport Officer at

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

from 1914 to 1917. He served in local government in Berkshire. He was a Deputy Lieutenant, was appointed JP for the county in 1905, and was elected to its County Council in 1907, becoming County Alderman in 1923. Turner was twice married. His first marriage, in 1886, was to Ella, daughter of Charles James Thornton, of St Petersburg, Russia. She died as a result of giving birth to a son also named Charles in 1887. Turner remarried, in 1892, to Jane Elizabeth, only daughter of Admiral Sir Alexander Buller. The couple had five children:

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

, born on 22 May 1893, Victor, born on 17 January 1900, Cecil, Mark and Jane. Two of their sons who served in the

, with both having the distinction of being awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

. Alexander was awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry while serving with the Royal Berkshire Regiment during the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. Th ...

in September 1915 in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was wounded during the course of his actions, and succumbed to his wounds days later on 1 October 1915. Victor was awarded his Victoria Cross for gallantry while serving with the Rifle Brigade during the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa had prevented th ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, when he was the Commanding Officer (CO) of his regiment's 2nd Battalion. Under his command the battalion fought off desperate

counterattack A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek ...

s by 90 tanks, destroying or immobilising more than 50 of them. During the action, one of the 6-pounder guns was left with only one officer and a sergeant, so Colonel Turner joined them as loader, and between them they destroyed another five tanks. Only on three other occasions have brothers been recipients of the Victoria Cross.

References

External links

Charles Turner
at

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Charles Turner
at CricketArchive {{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Charles 1862 births 1926 deaths People from Gringley on the Hill Cricketers from Nottinghamshire English cricketers Gloucestershire cricketers Royal Berkshire Regiment officers Military personnel from Nottinghamshire