William John Turney

In memoriam

OUR LOVED ONE GONE FROM US BUT NOT FORGOTTEN AT REST IN PEACE

William was born in Horton, Buckinghamshire, England during the first three months of 1890 and grew up in Slapton, Bedfordshire, England. He was the son of James and Mary Ann Turney née Brigginshaw. The family were farm workers and William was described as a Farm Cattle worker-cum-Agricultural Labourer: a "Cowman" according to the 1911 Census, on farms around Slapton. During the Great War, William enlisted in Southampton and was sent abroad to serve in the Royal Army Medical Corps in Macedonia, Greece, attached to the 2nd Battalion the King's (Liverpool Regiment). His rank was as a Private and his Military Number was 29221. He would have been employed as a stretcher-bearer and \ or a Camp Hospital Attendant. As such he was constantly in danger as he carried wounded soldiers from mountain or valley along the Front or helped the "walking wounded" on their escape away from trenches and no-man's-land: mostly under observation from enemy guns. In the Front Line First Aid Posts \ hospital camps, he tended the wounded and dying or helped surgeons in their operations, doing so he would have been exposed to every infection and disease alike. It was likely the latter that eventually killed William on Saturday 26 May 1918: the Balkan Front had a notorious reputation as a malaria hotspot throughout the War: a fact that is reflected in the title of the Balkan War veteran's\descendant's\relative's newsletter: "The Mosquito". William died in Greece at the 31st Casualty Clearing Camp, aged 28 and was originally buried in Janes Military Cemetery but his remains were subsequently transferred on 10th October 1921 by the Imperial War Grave Commission to Sarigol Military Cemetery, Kristoni, Regional Unit of Kilkis, Central Macedonia. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission now cares for his grave. The inscription on his headstone was authorised by his father Mr James Turney. Posthumously awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. William was my paternal Grandmother (Caroline Victoria Brigginshaw)'s cousin.

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