William Thomas Turner

Coordinates: 53°25′36.494″N 3°2′44.551″W / 53.42680389°N 3.04570861°W / 53.42680389; -3.04570861
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William Thomas Turner

OBE RNR
Turner as captain of RMS Aquitania, 1914
Born(1856-10-23)23 October 1856
Liverpool, England
Died23 June 1933(1933-06-23) (aged 76)
Great Crosby, Lancashire, England
OccupationShip captain
Years active1864–1919
EmployerCunard Line
Known forMaster of RMS Lusitania
Spouse
Alice Elizabeth Hitching
​
​
(m. 1883; separation 1903)​
PartnerMabel Every (1908–1933)
Children2

Captain William Thomas Turner OBE RNR (23 October 1856 – 23 June 1933) was a British merchant captain. He is best known as the captain of RMS Lusitania when she was sunk by a German torpedo in May 1915.[1][2]

Career and honours[edit]

Early life and career[edit]

Born in Liverpool, England to Charlotte Turner (née Johnson) and Charles Turner, who was a seaman. The younger Turner first set sail aboard the ship Grasmere somewhere between the ages of 8 and 13 (sources vary as to his age). Just like his last voyage on the Lusitania, his first sea voyage also ended in a shipwreck near Ireland, and he swam to the Irish shore to save himself.[3] Turner served under his father's command on Queen of the Nations. While best known now for his role in the Lusitania disaster, Turner was an excellent navigator who accomplished several crossings at notable speeds, including Liverpool to New York in 12 days in 1910, and was promoted for his skill despite his unsuitably gruff demeanor around passengers.[4] Turner was said to have referred to passengers as, "a load of bloody monkeys who are constantly chattering".[5]

Acts of heroism[edit]

While appointed to Cherborg, Turner gained recognition for personally rescuing a man and a boy who had fallen into the water after Alice Davies was wrecked in a collision with Cherborg. He again gained fame for rescuing a 14-year-old boy who had fallen off the Alexandra Dock, and was awarded the Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society's Silver Medal. He received an illuminated address from the Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society for rescuing the crew of Vagne in 1897. Turner received the Transport Medal for outstanding service in 1902 when, as Chief Officer of Umbria, he moved troops to South Africa during the Boer War. Turner received yet another illuminated address from the Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society upon rescuing half of the crew of the West Point in 1910.

List of notable ships Turner served aboard[edit]

Career with Cunard[edit]

Turner joined Cunard Line in 1878 as Fourth Officer, following in his father's footsteps, and left Cunard in 1883 to gain additional experience required for a promotion. Turner gained his captain's licence in 1886, and then rejoined the line in 1889. In 1903, Turner was given his first command, Aleppo.[6] While Cunard initially had concerns about Turner's gruff demeanour and avoidance of passengers, they found to their surprise that passengers actually enjoyed Turner's elusive act and that he was in high demand.

In 1915 A German U-boat sank RMS Lusitania by torpedo, and an Admiralty inquiry brought serious charges against Turner. Winston Churchill was directly involved with the case. Turner was exonerated, but the charges haunted him for the rest of his life, and he lived in seclusion.[7]

Ivernia[edit]

Ivernia, about 1900

In the autumn of 1916, nearly a year after the sinking of Lusitania, Turner was appointed relieving master of the Cunard Line vessel Ivernia, which The British government had chartered as a troopship. On New Year's Day 1917 a German U-boat torpedoed the ship in the Mediterranean off the Greek coast, with 2,400 troops aboard. She sank fairly quickly, with a loss of 36 crew members and 84 troops. Once again, Turner survived. This time, The New York Times reported, he remained on the bridge until all aboard had departed in lifeboats and rafts, "before striking out to swim as the vessel went down under his feet."[8]

Personal life[edit]

Turner received the nickname Bowler Bill, for his custom of buying a brand new bowler hat upon taking command of a ship and wearing this hat on ship's business.

Turner married his cousin, Alice Elizabeth Hitching, on 31 August 1883. They lived together in Manchester and had two sons, Percy Wilfred (born 1885) and Norman Henry (born 1893). Alice moved out in 1903 with Turner's sons, when the couple separated. They remained separated for the rest of their lives, and Turner lived with his housekeeper and companion Miss Mabel Every.[9] Alice emigrated with Turner's sons to Australia in 1915, following the Admiralty's inquiry, and subsequently relocated to Canada at an unknown date. Without knowing his sons had relocated to Canada with Alice, Turner went in search of them upon being diagnosed with intestinal cancer. In November 1919, Turner retired, telling Mabel, "All I want now is a quiet life."[10] It was at this time he was awarded the O.B.E. at the behest of the Chairman of the Cunard Line.

Turner died of intestinal cancer on 23 June 1933.[11] Turner's son, Merchant Navy Able Seaman Percy Wilfred Turner, age 55, was lost on 16 September 1941 on Jedmoor when German submarine U-98 sank it.[12]

Portrayals[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Captain Turner Dead. Commanded Lusitania When Liner Was Torpedoed". Montreal Gazette. 24 June 1933. Retrieved 27 February 2010. Captain William Turner was one of the few officers saved when the Lusitania of the Cunard Line was torpedoed by a German sub marine and sank off the ...
  2. ^ "Capt. Turner Dies; Lusitania Master". New York Times. 24 June 1933. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  3. ^ "Mr. William Thomas Turner, Captain, Royal Naval Reserve". The Lusitania Resource.
  4. ^ Korolev, Nick (1 February 2012). Dark Waters. Salvo Press. p. Part 2. ISBN 9781609770303.
  5. ^ Larson, Erik (10 March 2015). Dead Wake. 5-133. ISBN 978-0307408860.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ Protasio, John (15 August 2011). The Lusitania Disaster and Its Influence on the Course of World War I. Casemate. p. 17. ISBN 9781935149453.
  7. ^ Denson, John (16 June 2006). A Century of War: Lincoln, Wilson & Roosevelt. Ludwig Von Mises Institute. p. 136. ISBN 1933550066.
  8. ^ Gould, James E. (7 May 2015). "Why Should Captains Go Down With Their Ships?". The Atlantic Monthly. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  9. ^ Larson, Eric (10 March 2015). Dead Wake. 5-133. ISBN 978-0307408860.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ^ "Mr. William Thomas Turner, Captain, Royal Naval Reserve - The Lusitania Resource". www.rmslusitania.info. 12 December 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  11. ^ "Commander of Lusitania Dead", Daily Telegraph, 24 June 1933
  12. ^ "Able Seaman Percy Wilfred Turner". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 10 February 2019.

External links[edit]

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