James Youll Turnbull VC (24 December 1883 – 1 July 1916) was a Scottish recipient of 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 ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces. Before 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 played rugby for

Cartha Queens Park RFC The Cartha Queens Park Rugby Football Club is a rugby union side based in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded in 1974, after the merger of Cartha RFC and Queens Park F.P. They play their home games at Dumbreck. The men's side are currently in ...

and was a member of the 3rd Battalion of the

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

Rifle Volunteers. He was a

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in the 17th Battalion (Glasgow Commercials),

The Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First and Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 to form the Royal Highland Fusil ...

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 ...

during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

. On 1 July 1916, Turnbull was awarded the VC for his actions at

Leipzig Salient The Leipzig Salient was the British term for a German defensive position built in 1915 on the Somme in France, during the First World War, opposite the village of Authuille which contained the Leipzig Redoubt on its west face. The position was ...

Authuille Authuille () is a Communes of France, commune in the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. See also *Communes of the Somme department References

Communes of Somme (departme ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, where Turnbull's party captured a post of apparent importance, and defended it "almost single-handed y. Later in the day he was killed while engaged in a bombing counter-attack. He was 32 years old.

Citation

Turnbull's grave is located at Lonsdale Cemetery, (four miles north of Albert)

Communes of Somme (departme ...

, France in Plot IV, Row G, Grave 9.Turnbull, James Yuill
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References

Bibliography

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External links

* 1883 births 1916 deaths Military personnel from Glasgow British Battle of the Somme recipients of the Victoria Cross Highland Light Infantry soldiers British military personnel killed in the Battle of the Somme British Army personnel of World War I Scottish rugby union players Cartha RFC players British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Rugby union players from Glasgow Scottish military personnel killed in action {{Scotland-rugbyunion-bio-stub