"Jum" Hubert Sydney Turtill (1 February 1880 – 9 April 1918) was a New Zealand dual-code footballer, playing

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

and then

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

for New Zealand. After emigrating to Britain, he served in the British Army during the First World War, and was killed while serving in 1918.

Early years

Turtill's father died in

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 ...

when he was only three years old and his mother decided to move to New Zealand to be with relatives. On the sea voyage in 1884 he gained the nickname Jum, short for Jumbo. Turtill worked in New Zealand as a decorative metal worker.

Rugby union

He started his

career playing for Christchurch Albion before making the Canterbury team in 1902.John Haynes ''From All Blacks to All Golds: Rugby League's Pioneers'', Christchurch, Ryan and Haynes, 1996. He represented the South Island in 1903 and 1907. He became an

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

in 1905, playing against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Rugby league

In 1907 he joined the professional All Blacksbetter known as the All Golds'on their tour of Great Britain and Australia, thus joining the code that would evolve into rugby league. He was selected because he was considered well versed in wet weather football, something the side would constantly experience in Great Britain. On the tour he played in six test matches. Turtill captained the side in the first ever trans-Tasman test against the

Australia national rugby league team The Australian National Rugby League Team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competition since the establishment of Rugby league in Australia, the 'Northern Union game' in Australia in 1908. Admin ...

on 9 May 1908 when New Zealand won 11-10. Turtill only scored one try on tour, but it was an important one - the first by New Zealand in a test match against Great Britain at Leeds on 25 January 1908 - and helped them win the series. Once the tour was over he returned to England with his wife, Mabel, originally intending to play for

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

. However he instead joined St. Helens where he also owned a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, the "Lord Nelson Hotel" in St Helens.

First World War

After the outbreak of the First World War, Turtill served with the

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 ...

. He became a sergeant in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

until he was killed in France in 1918 during the

Battle of Givenchy A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

.Coffey and Wood ''The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League'' CWGC entry
/ref> Turtill’s body was buried in a French war cemetery. In 2022 the

New Zealand Rugby Museum The New Zealand Rugby Museum, based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, is a museum dedicated to the sport of Rugby union. Founded by John Sinclair and modeled after the Trophy Room in Cardiff Arms Park in Wales, the museum's collections include eq ...

displayed a tribute to Turtill, including items on loan from his family including his Canterbury cap and New Zealand jersey and cap and his engraved war service medallion.

References

External links