John Charles McNicol Turnbull (30 December 1885 – 2 May 1917) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er , who played with

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at t ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

Family

The son of Charles William Turnbull (1862–1912), and Agnes Turnbull (1861–1915), née McNicol, John Charles McNicol Turnbull was born at

Horsham, Victoria Horsham () is a regional city in the Wimmera region of western Victoria, Australia. Located on a bend in the Wimmera River, Horsham is approximately northwest of the state capital Melbourne. As of the 2021 Census, Horsham had a population of 2 ...

on 30 December 1885. He married Mary Ellen Adams (1890–1974) in 1912.

Football

He played 12 games for South Melbourne First XVIII in 1908; and, after this short VFL career, he returned to the bush and settled in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

Military service

Employed as a bricklayer, he enlisted in the First AIF, and left Australia for overseas service on the ''HMAT Ascanius (A11)'' on 27 May 1916.

Death

He was severely wounded in action on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

on 30 April 1917, and died of his wounds on 2 May 1917. Buried at the

Trois Arbres Cemetery ''Trois'' is a 2000 erotic thriller film directed by Rob Hardy and produced by William Packer. It stars Gary Dourdan, Kenya Moore and Gretchen Palmer. The film was given a limited theatrical release and was one of the years highest grossing Af ...

, at

Steenwerck Steenwerck (; Dutch: ''Steenwerk'') is a commune, in French Flanders, in the Nord department in northern France. It is located about north of Lille and in 2013 had a population of 3519. People from Steenwerck are known as ''Steenwerckois''. I ...

in Northern France, he left a widow and five children, one of whom was born after he left for overseas service.Wish Not Fulfilled, ''The Herald'', (Monday, 10 September 1917), p.4.
/ref>

Footnotes

References

* Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing. * Main, J. & Allen, D., "Turnbull, Jack", pp. 186–190 in Main, J. & Allen, D., ''Fallen – The Ultimate Heroes: Footballers Who Never Returned From War'', Crown Content, (Melbourne), 2002.
First World War Embarkation Roll: Private John Charles McNicol Turnbull (241)
collection of the ''Australian War Memorial''.
World War One Service Record: Private John Charles McNicol Turnbull (241)
''National Archives of Australia''.
Roll of Honour Circular: Private John Charles McNicol Turnbull (241)
collection of the ''Australian War Memorial''.
Roll of Honour: Private John Charles McNicol Turnbull (241)
''Australian War Memorial''.
Australian Casualties: List No.301: Died of Wounds: Victoria (Turnbull, J.C.M., Horsham, 2/5/17), ''The Argus'', (Tuesday 22 May 1917), p.9.

Deaths: Australians on Service: Killed: Turnbull, ''The Argus'', (Thursday 24 May 1917), p.6.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Turnbull, Jack 1885 births 1917 deaths Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Sydney Swans players Williamstown Football Club players Military personnel from Melbourne Australian Army soldiers Burials in Hauts-de-France Horsham Football Club players Australian military personnel killed in World War I