Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

Henry Moreton Stanley Turner

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(1875–1951) was an English physician who served as senior medical advisor to the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

between the First and Second World Wars.

Life

He was born in

Hanley, Staffordshire Hanley is one of the Federation of Stoke-on-Trent, six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Staffordshire, Longton, Fenton, Staffordshire, Fenton, Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke ...

on 2 December 1875. He appears to have been named after the English journalist

Henry Morton Stanley Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author and politician who was famous for his exploration of Central Africa Cen ...

, a local hero at the time of his birth. He is thought to have studied medicine at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and in 1899 he was practicing in London. In 1906 he was living with his family in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Gre ...

in London. In 1909 he moved with his family to the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

in the South Atlantic, as GP in Stanley. He also appears to have been a Major in the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

(later the Territorial Army). At the outbreak of 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 ...

he became Commander of the island's defence force. In 1915, feeling he would be of more practical use in Europe, he joined the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

and served tending the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

in France as part of the 4/11th Field Ambulance. He received a Military MBE in 1919 for his work. In August 1919 he was commissioned as a

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

in the Royal Air Force. From then until 1930 he served as their Principal Medical Officer. He rose to the rank of Wing Commander. He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

in 1925. His proposers were

Edward Hindle Edward Hindle FRS FRSE FIB FRGS FRPSG (21 March 1886–22 January 1973) was a British biologist and entomologist who was Regius Professor of Zoology at the University of Glasgow from 1935 to 1943. He specialised in the study of parasites. ...

William Fraser Hume Dr William Fraser Hume FRSE (1867–1949) was a British geologist specialising in Egypt. Life He was born in Cheltenham in England on 1 October 1867 the son of George Hume. He received his early education in Russia and at College Galliard in ...

, William A. Guthrie,

John William Henry Eyre Prof John William Henry Eyre FRSE (1869–1944) was a British bacteriologist and ophthalmologist, specialising in the bacteriology of the eye. Life He was born in London on 18 July 1869 the son of John Eyre. He was educated privately and at Wh ...

and Sir Frederick Hobday. He died on 5 February 1951 in

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Family

In 1900 he married Isabella Philip (1869-1915), they had four children. His wife died in 1915 and he married Dorothy Muriel Bayley (1888-1946).

References

1875 births 1951 deaths People from Hanley, Staffordshire 20th-century British medical doctors Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh English Freemasons Royal Army Medical Corps officers Royal Air Force officers Members of the Order of the British Empire Military personnel from Staffordshire {{UK-med-bio-stub