William Turney
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William was the son of Frederick Nicholson Turney and Eliza Roberts Turney nee Jardine.His father was born in Nottingham in 1855 (J/A/S Radford) and his mother in Aberdeen, Scotland. They were married in 1877 (J/A/S Aston, Warwickshire) and had at least five children: Edward birth registered 1880 (J/F/M Basford), Fred b. 8 September 1881 (O/N/D Basford), William b. 1884 (A/M/J Basford), Arthur Gordon b. 1885 (O/N/D Basford) and Harry Farquhar birth registered 1891 (J/F/M Basford).In 1881 Frederick (25) a leather dresser, and his wife Eliza (23) were living at Coborn Villa, St Albans Road, Arnold Nottingham, with their son Edward (1). Also in the household was Hannah (16) a general servant.By 1891 Frederick, a tanner and leather dresser, and Eliza were living at 14 Ebury Road, Mapperley Park, Nottingham, with their five sons; Edward (11), Fred (9), William (7), Arthur (5) and Harry (3 months). Frederick employed a domestic servant, Ann Lawson (23), and a monthly sick nurse, Susan Fletcher (58).The family has not yet been traced on the 1901 and 1911 Census apart from Edward (21), then a leather works manager, who in 1901 was a boarder in the household of Sarah Skarratt, a shopkeeper, at 9 St Thomas Place, Stockport, Cheshire, and Frederick Nicholson and William (17) a commercial clerk, who at the time of the same census were boarders at 18 Shaw Heath, Stockport, in the household of Kate Clarkson, a licensed victualler.At the time of his death, William's home was at 193 Chapeltown Road, Leeds.Frederick and Eliza Turney later lived at The Gables, Sherwood Rise (NEP notice 1917) and then at Grosvenor Lodge, 27, Grosvenor Road, Bournemouth (CWGC). Eliza died in 1927 (June Bournemouth) aged 69. Her husband died on 9 November 1951; he was still living at 27 Grosvenor Road, Bournemouth.Of William's siblings:Fred is commemorated on the Nottingham Boy's High School memorial. However, it is likely that this is an error for William as records suggest that Fred survived long after the war. In 1908 there is a record that he was employed as an assistant manager at Les Forges et Fonderies de Maurice, Port Louis, Mauritius. At the time of the 1939 England and Wales Register he was living at the Paragon Hotel, Greenwich, London (occupation Ordnance Mechanical) and was married.Arthur Gordon emigrated to Canada and probably married there. He died in Fredericton, York County, New Brunswick, on 4 March 1960 and was buried in the Forest Hill Cemetery, Fredericton.There is a record of a Harry Turney (47) sailing from New York onboard SS Queen Mary (Cunard White Star Line), arriving Southampton on 24 July 1939, and then of a Harry Turney (48) departing Liverpool on 24 January 1940 onboard SS Duchess of Richmond (Canadian Pacific Line) bound for Saint John, Nova Scotia, Canada.
He was formerly acting sergeant in the Middlesex Regiment, but was commissioned on 5th April 1915 and went to France in 1916.He was killed in action on 10 July 1916; his death was not confirmed until July the following year. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial (Pier and Face 7B).
Nottingham Evening Post, ‘Roll of Honour’, 6 July 1917: ‘Turney. Formerly reported missing, now reported killed in action, July 10th, 1916. William Turney, Second-Lieut. South Staffordshire Regiment, third son of Mr and Mrs FN Turney, late of the Gables, Sherwood-rise. Friends please accept this the only intimation.’ (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)Probate: Turney William of 193 Chapeltown-road Leeds a second-lieutenant in the South Staffordshire regiment died 10 July 1916 in France Probate Wakefield 11 August to John Turney commercial traveller. Effects £1061 1s. 8d.Probate: Turney Frederick Nicholson of 27 Grosvenor-road Bournemouth died 9 November 1951 Probate London 18 January to National Provincial Bank Limited. Effects £82745 0s. 3d.Probate: Turney Arthur Gordon of Fredericton York New Brunswick Canada died 4 March 1960 Administration (with Will) (limited) London 3 January to National Provincial Bank Limited attorney of The Central Trust Company of Canada. Effects £2027 11s. 1d in England. Canada Find a Grave Index: AG Turney b. 1885 d. 1960 Forest Hill Cemetery, Fredericton, York County, New Brunswick, CanadaWilliam was a member of the well-known Nottingham Turney family who owned the leather works at Trent Bridge.In the year 1916, when 'The Cruel Sea' author Nicholas Montsarrat was aged six, he spent Christmas at his grandfather's Gedling home. Montsarrat's grandfather was the rich and influential city businessman Sir John Turney, and his home was the magnificent Georgian mansion called Gedling House. It was a wonderful holiday, with the house filled with Sir John's many children and grandchildren – and he told them all what to do. Sir John, a father of seven, was a giant of Nottingham industry, the founder of the well-known leather company based on the banks of the River Trent where Turneys Quay now stands. He employed nearly 500 people and, befitting his place in society, lived in splendour. He was also a former town mayor and a Freeman of Nottingham and London. In his racy memoirs 'Life Is A Four Letter Word', Montsarrat described Gedling House as the "handsome lair of that formidable grandfather." He fondly recalled that 1916 Christmas when gifts were handed out around a huge tree – a pop gun firing a cork was his favourite present. Sir John ruled the event with an iron hand, and would send a summons to the many family members to gather. "Sir John will see you in the drawing room at five" or "Sir John hopes you will join him for a tour of the greenhouses after lunch," it would say. Montsarrat was the son of Turney's daughter Marguerite and her husband Keith Montsarrat, a surgeon who once worked at the General Hospital in Nottingham. They were married in 1898 at Emmanuel Church, Woodborough, and Nicholas was born 12 years later. Remembering that Christmas, he wrote about the final treat of the holiday – a family trip to see a pantomime in Nottingham. Sir John booked up an entire row of seats, and ensured he sat in the middle. Montsarrat wrote: "Sometimes there were jokes which I could not understand, but which set the whole theatre roaring with laughter. When this happened all the grown-ups in our party looked along the row towards grandfather, and when he laughed... they laughed too."Research Simon Williams
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