Person:Lionel Turner (1)

Lionel Claude Turner was born on 7th March 1898 at Pembroke Dock in Wales, son of Elizabeth Mary Turner, formerly May, and her husband William Henry Turner, a Petty Officer in the Royal Navy. Lionel's birth is the family's only sighting in Wales; his elder brother had been born in Plymouth, and the family returned to that area shortly after Lionel's birth, settling in Devonport. The 1901 and 1911 censuses each find Lionel living with his parents and siblings at 14 Third Avenue in Devonport. Lionel's maternal grandfather William May also lived with the family after his wife's death in 1910, until he died in 1913.

In 1913 Lionel joined the Royal Navy, aged fifteen. He was to serve right through the First World War on a variety of ships, rated initially as 'boy', then becoming an Engine Room Artificer.

It has yet to be established whether Lionel married or had children. It is possible that he is the Lionel C. Turner who married Edith Maud Vague in 1919 in the Helston district of Cornwall, but the marriage certificate would need to be obtained to be sure. That couple had one daughter in 1921.

Lionel's father William died in 1924. Lionel's traced naval records only run to 1928, but it appears he continued to serve in the Navy after 1928. He was still described as a Royal Navy Engine Room Artificer in 1931 when his mother died.

In the Second World War Lionel served on board HMS Hermes, a large aircraft carrier. On 9th April 1942 HMS Hermes was sunk after being attacked by the Japanese air force in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sri Lanka (then Ceylon). Lionel was one of 307 men who were killed in the sinking of the Hermes. He was 44 years old.

1. ↑ Births index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   b. Lionel Claude TURNER, June Quarter 1898, Pembroke Registration District, Volume 11a, page 1226

2. ↑ Baptisms register, in Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Parish Registers.

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of Pembroke Dock in the County of Pembroke in the year One Thousand Eight Hundred and ninety eight
   No. 1424
   When Baptized: 1898 April 14th / Born March 7th 98
   Name: Lionel Claude
   Parents: William Henry & Elizabeth Mary
   Surname: Turner
   Abode: 11 Arthur St, Pembroke Dock
   Quality, trade or profession: 1st Class Petty Officer R.N.
   By whom the Ceremony was performed: Arthur B. Evans, Curate

3. ↑ England. England. 1901 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG13; Piece 2111; Folio 86; Page 20, 31 Mar 1901.

   Address: 14 Third Avenue, Devonport, Devon
   3 rooms occupied
   William H. Turner, head, married, male, 33 [1867/8], Chief Stoker R.N., worker, b. Devonport, Devon
   Elizabeth M. Turner, wife, married, female, 31 [1869/70], b. Plymouth, Devon
   William H. Turner, son, single, male, 6 [1894/5], b. Plymouth, Devon
   Lionel C. Turner, son, single, male, 3 [1897/8], b. Pembroke, S. Wales
   Leslie H. Turner, son, single, male, 9mo [1900], b. Devonport, Devon

4. ↑ England. 1911 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom: The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), (formerly the UK General Register Office.))
   Class RG14; Piece 13032; Schedule 220, 2 Apr 1911.

   Address: 14 Third Avenue, Camels Head, Devonport, Devon
   5 rooms occupied
   William Henry Turner, head, male, 43 [1867/8], married, Chief Stoker - Royal Navy, worker, b. Devonport, Devon
   Elizabeth Mary Turner, wife, female, 41 [1869/70], married 20 years, 3 children born alive, 3 still living, b. Plymouth, Devon
   William Harold Turner, son, male, 16 [1894/5], single, Ship Steward Boy - Royal Navy, worker, b. Plymouth, Devon
   Lionel Claude Turner, son, male, 13 [1897/8], School, b. Pembroke Dock, South Wales
   Leslie Hutchings Turner, son, male, 10 [1900/1], School, b. Devonport, Devon
   William May, father in law, male, 75 [1835/6], widower, 9 children born alive, 5 children still living, Retired market gardener, b. Bradninch Parish, Devon

5.   Admiralty. Royal Navy Registers of Seamen's Services
   ADM 188/1030/6292.

   Date of birth: 7 Mar 1898
   Place of birth: Pembroke Dock
   Height: 5' 4½"
   Chest: 36
   Hair: L[igh]t Bro[wn]
   Eyes: Blue
   Complexion: Fresh
   Scar left cheek
   Served: 25 Jul 1913 to 20 Nov 1928 in a variety of ships. Conduct always V.G.
   Rating: Boy 1913-1917, Engine Room Artificer 1917-1928

6. ↑ The Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

   Turner, Lionel Claude
   Rank: Chief Engine Room Artificer
   Service No: D/MX 56799
   Date of death: 9 Apr 1942
   Regiment / Service: Royal Navy, H.M.S. Hermes
   Panel Reference: Panel 68, Column 3
   Memorial: Plymouth Naval Memorial