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Private John Turner
Description
TitlePrivate John TurnerSummaryA soldier in World War One. DescriptionJohn was born 25 July 1886 at Debora Bay, Port Chalmers. His next of kin was his sister Violet Turner of Dunedin. He was 5ft 4¼in tall, with a dark complexion, grey eyes and black hair. He also had a had a scar on the back of his neck.
At the time of enlistment he was working as a farrier for Mr Curran, the blacksmith, at Southbridge. He was popular in town as one of the most promising players of the Southbridge Bowling Club. He was not only a player but also took a very keen interest in the club's welfare and carried out much useful work on the bowling green and grounds. He had previous military experience serving with the Dunedin Navals.
John enlisted on 14 August 1914 at Rangiora. He was assigned to the Canterbury Infantry Regiment and sailed for Suez on 16 October 1914. He took part in the August Offensive, as part of the Right Assaulting Column, in the attack on Chanuk Bair. He was killed in action sometime on 7 August 1915. His body was not recovered and his name is one of 850 recorded on the Chunuk Bair Memorial to the Missing, Gallipoli. In New Zealand John is remembered on the Southbridge Plaque of the Ellesmere County Memorial.
The eight month campaign in Gallipoli was fought by Commonwealth and French forces in an attempt to force Turkey out of the war, to relieve the deadlock of the Western Front in France and Belgium, and to open a supply route to Russia through the Dardanelles and the Black Sea. The Allies landed on the peninsula on 25-26 April 1915; the 29th Division at Cape Helles in the south and the Australian and New Zealand Corps north of Gaba Tepe on the west coast, an area soon known as Anzac. On 6 August, further landings were made at Suvla, just north of Anzac, and the climax of the campaign came in early August when simultaneous assaults were launched on all three fronts.
Chunuk Bair was one of the main objectives in the Battle of Sari Bair, fought 6-10 August 1915. The attack was to be carried out by two columns of the New Zealand Infantry Brigade, starting from the outposts on the shore and proceeding up the Sazli Belt Dere and the Chailak Dere. Meanwhile the New Zealand Mounted Rifles were to clear the foothills. The New Zealand Infantry reached Rhododendron Spur, where they were joined by the 10th Gurkha Rifles, from further north, and reinforced by the 8th Welsh, the 7th Gloucesters, the Auckland Mounted Rifles, and the Maori Contingent. The Wellington Infantry and some of the Gloucesters and Welsh reached the summit, and were later joined by men of the Auckland Infantry and Mounted Rifles.
These troops, after repulsing incessant Turkish attacks, were reinforced by the Otago Battalion and the Wellington Mounted Rifles. The 6th Gurkhas and the 6th South Lancashire Regiment came in on the left. The 6th Loyal North Lancashire Regiment relieved the force at Chunuk Bair on the evening of 9 August, supported later by part of the 5th Wilts, but on the morning of the 10th, the position was taken by a determined and overwhelming counter-attack, carried out by a Turkish Army Corps led by Mustapha Kemal Pasha. The loss of Chunuk Bair marked the end of the effort to reach the central foothills of the peninsula and on this sector of the front, the line remained unaltered until the evacuation in December 1915.
The Chunuk Bair (New Zealand) Memorial is one of four memorials erected to commemorate New Zealand soldiers who died on the Gallipoli peninsula and whose graves are not known. This memorial relates to the Battle of Sari Bair and in other operations in this sector. It bears more than 850 names. Chunuk Bair Cemetery was made after the Armistice on the site where the Turks had buried some of those Commonwealth soldiers who were killed on 6-8 August. It contains 632 Commonwealth burials, only ten of which are identified.First NameJohnLast NameTurnerFamilySingleBrother of Miss Violet Turner, care of Otago Benevolent Institution, Caversham, Dunedin, New ZealandDate of Birth25 July 1886Place of BirthDebora Bay, Port ChalmersDate of Death7 August 1915Place of DeathGallipoli, TurkeyCause of DeathKilled in actionAge at Death29
At the time of enlistment he was working as a farrier for Mr Curran, the blacksmith, at Southbridge. He was popular in town as one of the most promising players of the Southbridge Bowling Club. He was not only a player but also took a very keen interest in the club's welfare and carried out much useful work on the bowling green and grounds. He had previous military experience serving with the Dunedin Navals.
John enlisted on 14 August 1914 at Rangiora. He was assigned to the Canterbury Infantry Regiment and sailed for Suez on 16 October 1914. He took part in the August Offensive, as part of the Right Assaulting Column, in the attack on Chanuk Bair. He was killed in action sometime on 7 August 1915. His body was not recovered and his name is one of 850 recorded on the Chunuk Bair Memorial to the Missing, Gallipoli. In New Zealand John is remembered on the Southbridge Plaque of the Ellesmere County Memorial.
The eight month campaign in Gallipoli was fought by Commonwealth and French forces in an attempt to force Turkey out of the war, to relieve the deadlock of the Western Front in France and Belgium, and to open a supply route to Russia through the Dardanelles and the Black Sea. The Allies landed on the peninsula on 25-26 April 1915; the 29th Division at Cape Helles in the south and the Australian and New Zealand Corps north of Gaba Tepe on the west coast, an area soon known as Anzac. On 6 August, further landings were made at Suvla, just north of Anzac, and the climax of the campaign came in early August when simultaneous assaults were launched on all three fronts.
Chunuk Bair was one of the main objectives in the Battle of Sari Bair, fought 6-10 August 1915. The attack was to be carried out by two columns of the New Zealand Infantry Brigade, starting from the outposts on the shore and proceeding up the Sazli Belt Dere and the Chailak Dere. Meanwhile the New Zealand Mounted Rifles were to clear the foothills. The New Zealand Infantry reached Rhododendron Spur, where they were joined by the 10th Gurkha Rifles, from further north, and reinforced by the 8th Welsh, the 7th Gloucesters, the Auckland Mounted Rifles, and the Maori Contingent. The Wellington Infantry and some of the Gloucesters and Welsh reached the summit, and were later joined by men of the Auckland Infantry and Mounted Rifles.
These troops, after repulsing incessant Turkish attacks, were reinforced by the Otago Battalion and the Wellington Mounted Rifles. The 6th Gurkhas and the 6th South Lancashire Regiment came in on the left. The 6th Loyal North Lancashire Regiment relieved the force at Chunuk Bair on the evening of 9 August, supported later by part of the 5th Wilts, but on the morning of the 10th, the position was taken by a determined and overwhelming counter-attack, carried out by a Turkish Army Corps led by Mustapha Kemal Pasha. The loss of Chunuk Bair marked the end of the effort to reach the central foothills of the peninsula and on this sector of the front, the line remained unaltered until the evacuation in December 1915.
The Chunuk Bair (New Zealand) Memorial is one of four memorials erected to commemorate New Zealand soldiers who died on the Gallipoli peninsula and whose graves are not known. This memorial relates to the Battle of Sari Bair and in other operations in this sector. It bears more than 850 names. Chunuk Bair Cemetery was made after the Armistice on the site where the Turks had buried some of those Commonwealth soldiers who were killed on 6-8 August. It contains 632 Commonwealth burials, only ten of which are identified.First NameJohnLast NameTurnerFamilySingleBrother of Miss Violet Turner, care of Otago Benevolent Institution, Caversham, Dunedin, New ZealandDate of Birth25 July 1886Place of BirthDebora Bay, Port ChalmersDate of Death7 August 1915Place of DeathGallipoli, TurkeyCause of DeathKilled in actionAge at Death29
Connections
Military Service
Memorial or CemeteryChunuk Bair MemorialEllesmere County MemorialOccupation before EnlistingFarrierRegiment or ServiceCanterbury Infantry Regiment Enlistment Details14th August 1914Service Number6/852Embarkation16th October1914Place of EmbarkationLytteltonTransportTahitiAthenicTheatre of WarGallipoliCountryNew Zealand
Attribution
Researched ByL. M. Seaton
Private John Turner. Selwyn Stories, accessed 16/01/2026, https://selwynstories.selwynlibraries.co.nz/nodes/view/484
