Philip William Turner (3 December 1925 – 7 January 2006)''England and Wales, Death Index, 1989–2018'' was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

writer best known for his

children's books A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

set in the fictional town of Darnley Mills (1964–1977). Under the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Stephen Chance he is known for the Reverend Septimus Treloar

mystery fiction Mystery is a genre fiction, fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains wiktionary:mysterious, mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually prov ...

series (1971–1979). For his second novel and second Darnley Mills book, ''

The Grange at High Force ''The Grange at High Force'' is a children's novel by Philip Turner, published by Oxford in 1965 with illustrations by William Papas. It was the second book published in the author's Darnley Mills series. Turner won the annual Carnegie Medal, r ...

'', he won the 1965 Carnegie Medal from the

Library Association The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, since 2017 branded CILIP: The library and information association (pronounced ), is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge management, knowle ...

, recognising the year's best children's book by a

British subject The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...

Life

Born in

Rossland, British Columbia Rossland is in the West Kootenay region of south central British Columbia. High in the Monashee Mountains, the city lies immediately east of the intersections of BC highways British Columbia Highway 3B, 3B and British Columbia Highway 22, 22. The f ...

, Canada on 3 December 1925 to English parents from

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

, Philip Turner was brought to England in 1926. He was educated at Hinckley Grammar School in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

and spent many school holidays exploring the

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. T ...

s whilst staying with his grandparents. He served his

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

from 1943 to 1946 as a

Sub-Lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

Mechanical Engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...

in the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

, mostly 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 then resumed his education at

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms w ...

, whence he graduated in 1949. He married Margaret Diana Samson in 1950 with whom he had two sons and a daughter. After being trained for ordination at

Ripon Hall Ripon College Cuddesdon is a Church of England theological college in Cuddesdon, a village outside Oxford, England. The College trains men and women for ministry in the Church of England: stipendiary, non-stipendiary, local ordained and lay min ...

, Turner was ordained deacon in 1951 and priest in 1952 and served in parishes in

Armley Armley is a district in the west of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It starts less than from Leeds city centre. Like much of Leeds, Armley grew in the Industrial Revolution and had several mills, one of which houses now the Leeds Industrial ...

Crawley Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...

and

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

. In the late 1960s he became the Head of Religious Broadcasting for the Midland Region and subsequently became a teacher at

Droitwich Spa High School Droitwich Spa High School is a secondary school and specialist Sports College with academy status in Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, England. It serves the town of Droitwich Spa and the surrounding villages with 1395 students enrolled, includin ...

, chaplain of

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and a part-time teacher at

Malvern College Malvern College is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent coeducational day and boarding school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school in the British sen ...

,''Mysterium and Mystery: The Clerical Crime Novel'', by William David Spencer, 1992. pp 229.

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

. He began writing religious pieces in the mid-1950s and the first of his children's novels was published by Oxford in 1964. Set in the fictional town of Darnley Mills in

North East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...

, ''Colonel Sheperton's Clock'' involves a schoolboy mystery woven into an account of a boy's surgery to heal a disabled leg. Four sequels told more stories of the three heroes of the first book and another four created Darnley Mills local history from the nineteenth century to the

Second World War 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 also wrote several books for young adults under the name Stephen Chance. The first Septimus book, ''The Danedyke Mystery'' (1971), was adapted for television in 1979. Philip and Margaret lived in

West Malvern West Malvern is a village and a civil parish on the west side of the north part of the Malvern Hills, on the western edge of Worcestershire, England. It has become effectively a suburb of Malvern and part of an urban area often called ''The Malve ...

for 30 years until his death there from cancer in January 2006 aged 80. He is buried at St. Mathias Church,

Malvern Link Malvern Link is an area of Malvern, Worcestershire, England to the north and east of Great Malvern. The centres of Malvern Link and Great Malvern are separated by Link Common, an area of open land that is statutorily protected by the Malver ...

Works

Septimus Treloar mysteries (as Stephen Chance)

* (as Stephen Chance) ''Septimus and the Danedyke Mystery'' (

The Bodley Head The Bodley Head is an English publishing house, founded in 1887 and existing as an independent entity until the 1970s. The name was used as an imprint of Random House Children's Books from 1987 to 2008. In April 2008, it was revived as an adul ...

, 1971) * (as Stephen Chance) ''Septimus and the Minster Ghost'' (Bodley Head, 1972) * (as Stephen Chance) ''Septimus and the Stone of Offering'' (Bodley Head, 1976) * (as Stephen Chance) ''Septimus and the Spy Ring'' (Bodley Head, 1979)

Others

* ''Christ in the Concrete City'' (

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) is a UK-based Christian charity. Founded in 1698 by Thomas Bray, it has worked for over 300 years to increase awareness of the Christian faith in the UK and across the world. The SPCK is th ...

, 1956) —a play * ''Cry Dawn in Dark Babylon'' (S.P.C.K., 1959) —a dramatic meditation * ''Tell it with Trumpets: Three experiments in drama and evangelism'', (S.P.C.K., 1959) * ''Casey: A dramatic meditation on the Passion'' (S.P.C.K., 1962) * ''The Christmas Story: A carol service for children'' (London: Church Information Office, 1964) * ''Colonel Sheperton's Clock'' (

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, 1964); U.S. title, ''The Mystery of the Colonel's Clock'' ‡ * ''Peter Was His Nickname'' (London: Waltham Forest Books, 1965) —about the apostle

Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...

* ''

'' (Oxford, 1965); U.S. title, ''The Adventure at High Force'' ‡ * ''Sea Peril'' (Oxford, 1966) ‡ * ''Steam on the Line'' (Oxford, 1968) ‡ * ''War on the Darnel'' (Oxford, 1969) ‡ * ''Wigwig and Homer'' (Oxford, 1969), illus. Graham Humphreys; for younger children; * ''Devil's Nob'' (

Hamish Hamilton Hamish Hamilton Limited was a British book publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half-Scot half-American Jamie Hamilton (''Hamish'' is the vocative form of the Gaelic Seumas eaning James ''James'' the English form – which was ...

, 1970) ‡ * ''Powder Quay'' (Hamilton, 1971) ‡ * ''Dunkirk Summer'' (Hamilton, 1973) ‡ * ''Skull Island'' ( J. M. Dent & Sons, 1977) ‡ * ''Rookoo and Bree'' (Dent, 1979), illus. Terry Riley; for younger children * ''Decision in the Dark: Tales of Mystery'' (Dent, 1978) * ''The Good Shepherd'' (1986), illus. Bunshu Iguchi * ''Three One-Act Plays'' (Religious Drama Society of Great Britain, 1987) —including one play by Turner * ''The Bible Story'' (Oxford (US), 1987), illus.

Brian Wildsmith Brian Lawrence Wildsmith (22 January 1930 – 31 August 2016) was a British painter and children's book illustrator. He won the 1962 Kate Greenaway Medal for British children's book illustration, for the wordless alphabet book ''ABC''. In all h ...

—48 stories retold for young children * ''The Candlemass Treasure'' (

Lutterworth Press The Lutterworth Press, one of the oldest independent British publishing houses, has traded since the late eighteenth century - initially as the Religious Tract Society (RTS). The Lutterworth imprint, named after the small English town of Lutte ...

, 1988) : (‡) Darnley Mills series (1964 to 1977)

References

External links