NX. 3048 SERGEANT R. S. TURNER, MM. A.A.S.C. 6 AUST. DIV. 17TH DECEMBER 1944 AGE 28 THOUGH PARTED BY LAND AND SEA YOU ARE EVER IN MY HEART, DICK, DEAR
NX3048 Sergeant Richard Sydney Turner was born in Sydney in 1916. He enlisted on 28 October 1939 and served with 6 Division Supply Column, Australian Army Service Corps. After service in Africa he was captured by the Germans near Megara during the Greek campaign in June 1941, but escaped from the train taking him to Germany. He was initially sheltered by the Greeks but this became too dangerous when Italian troops offered large rewards for the capture of Allied soldiers and threatened to shoot anyone harbouring them. Turner and a companion hid in the mountains south of Thessaly during the winter of 1941-1942. Weak from malnutrition and malaria he was considering of giving himself up when he met Ioannis Kallinikos from the village of Livanatas, who sheltered him for the next year and a half. Turner joined the Greek resistance in the summer of 1943 and led a band of fifty Greek andartes. He later joined the British Military Mission in Greece (Force 133), which operated behind German lines. He was awarded the Military Medal for his endurance and service in Greece. Turner (aged 28) was killed by Greek communist insurgents, during the civil war which broke out in Greece following the withdrawal of the Axis forces, on 17 December 1944 while in a truck on his way to Athens airport to be repatriated to Australia. Turner carried this small flag (Australian red Ensign) throughout his service in North Africa and Greece and also carried a Luger P08 Pistol and other equipment. The Military Medal was until 1993 a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth of Nations countries, below commissioned officer rank, for bravery in battle on land. The medal was established on 25 March 1916. It was the other ranks equivalent to the Military Cross, which was awarded to commissioned officers and Warrant Officers (although WOs could also be awarded the MM), although it took precedence below that decoration as well as the Distinguished Conduct Medal, also awarded to non-commissioned members of the Army. Recipients of the Military Medal were entitled to use the post nominal letters "MM". In 1993, the Military Medal was discontinued, and since then the Military Cross has been awarded to personnel of all ranks. Richard Sydney Turner MM Rank - Sergeant [Sgt] Service Number - NX3048 Unit - 17 BDE COMP COY AASC Service - Army Conflict - 1939-1945 Date of Death - 17 December 1944 (17 Infantry Brigade) Place of Death - Greece Cause of Death - Killed In Action (escaped Prisoner Of War) Source - AWM147 Roll of Honour cards, 1939-1945 War, 2nd AIF (Australian Imperial Force) and CMF (Citizen Military Force) Roll of Honour - Panel 12 (Australian War Memorial)
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