Information re William James Turney

Andrew

It would be good to have the photos and articles for the gallery that you have. You wrote " have also found pictures of him in Scotland with the Commando memorial & press cutting from the Scotsman & Oban Times when the queen 'opened' the memorial 2nd & 4th October 1952."

My Dad was No 4.

Best wishes.

Bill Harvey

Just to let others know there was a recent fault on the forum, now rectified, preventing me from responding so I have made contact with Andrew by email.

Pete & Bill thanks for the update.
I have taken the pictures and my father's Service Record into Carlisle to get them scanned professionally at a printers as my scanner is only A4. They should be available the 21st / 22nd Feb so I will let you know the file sizes when I get them back to see if they will upload or email or even send on a pen drive directly to you.
I had not seen the message from Bill Harvey until today so I will get the newspaper articles scanned too.
thanks
Andrew

Andrew

Many thanks.

Bill

Bill Pete I have been into Carlisle again and taken the newspapers for scanning, they will be ready for collection on Thursday 23rd
The other pictures and my father's service record have scanned well
back soon
Andrew

Many thanks Andrew.

Bill

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 24/02/2017 15:42:28

Our thanks to Andrew for sending us copies of the images in his father's collection. From those images I have replaced the lower resolution copies that we already had with his much higher resolution ones, and added a couple of new ones. They have been placed in our Commando Training Gallery and are at present located on rows 1 and 2 of Page 2 of that gallery here and credited accordingly:

Commando Training gallery page 2

He has also sent me copies of his Father's service record which I will check out.

Many thanks Andrew.

Ps.

Don't forget to click on the images until they reach their full size.

I have now added detail to our website from the Service Record Andrew sent me for his father CSM William James Turney. It can be viewed here:

http://www.commandoveterans.org/WilliamTurneyCommando

Pete Bill
I have just finished reading James Dunning's 'It had to be tough' - an excellent read and it has started to fill in some of the details re the time my father spent with the Commando's. I found the section on p35 written by Lt. Col. Newman particularly insightful and it really opened my eyes to the nature of the expectations of those men being trained and those who were undertaking their training. I found it quite refreshing to see the number of references through the book about 'getting the best from the men' rather than brutalising them into action along with the fact that as with the climbing the best led and often higher ranking men followed. I find that my father played a part in working in that way is quite humbling for me and made all the more powerful by the complimentary testimonial when he left the army. He clearly was in his element!
I do have 1 question, which started as general 'I wonder why?' and by the end of reading the book became more of a mystery to me - that is why was he UK based for so much of the war and why was he not posted to some of the operations that many of the other men were moved to?
If you have any thoughts on that I would be grateful to know, if you have any other recommendations of books that will fill in more of the detail I would welcome those too.
many thanks again for for your help and support
Andrew

Andrew

If you can get it read Castle Commando by Donald Gilchrist who was adjutant at Achnacarry and also No 4, It is a great read.

If you look at No 4's actions there was time in between. Not wasted time. Time becoming a wonderful fighting force training all the time.

Best wishes.

Bill

Bill thank you for the recommendation I will try and get a copy
bw
Andrew

Bill I have just checked a box of books that came from my mother's house - there are 4 books relating to the Commando's including a1960 copy of 'Castle Commando' along with 'Commando' by Brigadier John Durnford Slater +'Swiftly They Struck' by Murdoch C. McDougall + the 'Green Beret' by Hilary St George Saunders.... so plenty of reading!
bw
Andrew

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 02/05/2017 14:26:13

Andrew,

It was not uncommon for those whose skills in training were seen so important as to merit retention in training centres such as Stan 'Sonnie' Bissell and others, or for those who had been injured and not able to continue in a fighting commando unit but whose skills in a training role were recognised and needed, such as T/Capt. John Proctor. (click on names for info)

The service record of your Father, CSM William James Turney, indicates that during his initial Independent Company and Commando service he was injured and recovered from a grenade explosion in June 1941 and transferred to the Y List because of his injuries. He does not come off the Y list until Jan 1942 and he is then posted to the Commando Depot in a Weapons Training Instructor capacity. That might give a clue bearing in mind the above.

Pete

Pete thank you - Whilst I understood that he had been injured and hospitalised I did not appreciate that it was known that a grenade explosion that was the cause of his injuries. It makes sense with the examples of the other Commando's based at Achnacarry that you gave, that there was a place for expertise in the training teams.
Your insights are most helpful
thank you again.
Off to do some more reading
vbw
Andrew