Early life and career 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. Turner served under his father's command on
Queen of 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. Turner was said to have referred to passengers as, "a load of bloody monkeys who are constantly chattering".
Acts of heroism 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 •
Grasmere •
White Star •
Queen of Nations •
Cherbourg •
Star of thee East • • • • • • • • • • •
Career with Cunard 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. 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 the
Admiralty tried to place serious charges against Turner, blaming him for the sinking.
Winston Churchill was directly involved with the case. At the
Wreck commissioner's inquiry into the sinking, Turner was exonerated, but the charges haunted him for the rest of his life, and he lived in seclusion.
Ivernia In the autumn of 1916, over a year after the sinking of
Lusitania, Turner was appointed relieving master of the Cunard Line vessel , which The British government had chartered as a
troopship. On 1 January 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." ==Personal life==