Frank Conway Turner (5 November 1922 – 27 September 2010) was a British

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

who took part in four

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, three as a competitor and the fourth as National Coach; he was captain of the

British Gymnastics British Gymnastics, also known as the British Amateur Gymnastics Association (BAGA), is the sports governing body for gymnastics and Trampolining in the UK. History It was founded in 1888 as the Amateur Gymnastics and Fencing Association. Gy ...

team in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

. Turner was four times British

gymnastic Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shoul ...

s champion.Turner's biography on the 'Sports Reference – Olympic Sports' website
Born in the

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

of London in 1922, Turner developed an interest in sports as a boy, training in table tennis, diving, football, boxing and gymnastics. As a

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...

Turner boxed in the semi-finals of the

Amateur Boxing Association of England England Boxing, known until 2013 as the Amateur Boxing Association of England, is the governing body of amateur boxing clubs in England. There are separate organisations for Scotland and Wales with boxing in Northern Ireland being organised on a ...

Championship before deciding to develop his interest in gymnastics. Aged 11 he won the South of England Boys Championship in 1933 before making his international debut aged 15 in 1938. On leaving school in 1939 he worked as a bank clerk, but during

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 opposin ...

he was

conscripted Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

into the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1941. He served in North Africa and Sicily and was twice wounded. On being selected to captain the British gymnastics team in the

, Turner and the rest of the team had little if any experience of competing at an international level, and were unofficially coached by

Helmut Bantz Helmut Bantz (14 September 1921 – 4 October 2004) was a German gymnast and Olympic champion. He won a gold medal in the vault at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, competing for the United Team of Germany. Having fought for Germany in Worl ...

, a recently released German prisoner of war who had stayed in England as an agricultural worker. Turner competed in the Men's Individual All-Around, the Men's Team All-Around, the Men's Floor Exercise, the Men's Horse Vault, the Men's Parallel Bars, the Men's Horizontal Bar, the Men's Rings, and the Men's Pommelled Horse. A lifelong friend was fellow competitor

George Weedon George Weedon (1734–1793) was an American soldier during the Revolutionary War from Fredericksburg, Colony of Virginia. He served as a brigadier general in the Continental Army and later in the Virginia militia. After the Revolutionary War e ...

. Turner was also at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

in Helsinki, competing in the Men's Individual All-Around, the Men's Team All-Around, the Men's Floor Exercise, the Men's Horse Vault, the Men's Parallel Bars, the Men's Horizontal Bar, the Men's Rings, and Men's Pommelled Horse. In the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Turner competed in the Men's Individual All-Around, the Men's Floor Exercise, the Men's Horse Vault, the Men's Parallel Bars, the Men's Horizontal Bar, the Men's Rings, and the Men's Pommelled Horse. As National Coach to the British gymnastics team he also attended the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

in Rome. Turner was four times British all-around gymnastics champion, from 1949 to 1951, and again in 1953. He also took part in the 1950 World Championships in

Basle , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS), ...

, and the 1954 European Championships in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

. He achieved his International Judges Brevet award in 1963 and was awarded his 'Master Gymnast' in 1974. In 1964 he took a BA degree in

Sports science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sport and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally inc ...

at the Royal Polytechnic and a

BEd A bed is an item of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many beds ...

from the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

before becoming a lecturer at Watford College of Technology and

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 independent, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

. He was made a

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

in 1965. He was also a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. He doubled for actors including

Michael Bentine Michael Bentine, (born Michael James Bentin; 26 January 1922General Register Office for England and Wales – Birth Register for the March Quarter of 1922, Watford Registration District, Reference 3a 1478, listed as "Michael J. Bentin", mother ...

and

Norman Wisdom Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, (4 February 1915 – 4 October 2010) was an English actor, comedian, musician and singer best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring a hapless onscreen character often called Norman ...

when gymnastic stunts were required in films and television dramas.He received the Honorary Award of 'Distinguished Judge' from

.Honorary Awards
from

With his wife he had two sons, Keith and Colin Turner. Frank Turner died of cancer at his home in

Bricket Wood Bricket Wood is a village in the county of Hertfordshire, England, south of St Albans and north-northeast of Watford. History The area of Bricket Wood was mostly occupied by farmers until Bricket Wood railway station was built in 1861. In 18 ...

in Hertfordshire in September 2010 aged 87. His ashes were scattered in a field in

Aldenham Aldenham is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, north-east of Watford and southwest of Radlett. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book and is one of Hertsmere's 14 conservation areas. The village has eight pre-19th-century listed build ...

.'Olympic gymnast Frank Turner remembered' – ''St Albans & Harpenden Review'' 3 November 2010
/ref>

References

External links

Turner
on the

website
'An Olympic life remembered'
–

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

website – 25 November 2010
Turner's obituary
on the

Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique The International Gymnastics Federation (French: Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique, FIG) is the body governing all disciplines of competitive gymnastics. Its headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded on July 23, 1881, in ...

website
'Britain is a country where old men remember when they were young men competing in the 1948 London Olympic Games' – 27 July 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Frank 1922 births 2010 deaths British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery soldiers Alumni of the University of Westminster Alumni of the Open University English Olympic competitors British male artistic gymnasts Olympic gymnasts of Great Britain Gymnasts at the 1948 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1952 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1956 Summer Olympics People from St Albans (district)