Son of James Alfred Turner & Anne Louisa Thomas
b. 1892 ENG - d. 1972 ENG

World War I, 1914-1918

Gallipoli, Turkey (1915)
Of 154 Greenside Lane, Droylesden. William was in the 7th Battalion Manchester Regiment, served at Gallipoli until October 1915 when he was sent home and transferred to a Home Service labour unit.

7th Battalion Territorial Force Formed in 1859 as the 40th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers, later being redesignated the 16th LRV, after the Caldwell reforms they became the 4th Volunteer battalion of the Manchester Regiment, The battalion sent volunteers to fight in the Boer War as part of the Volunteer Service Companies. In 1908, after the Haldane reforms they became the 7th Battalion (Territorial Force) of the Regiment.
On the 4th August 1914, the battalion was based at their HQ at the Drill Hall in Burlington Street, Manchester, On the 20th they marched out to the Camp at Hollingworth Lake, Littleborough near Rochdale. Roughly 90% of the men volunteered for Imperial Service. the battalion was part of the Manchester Brigade, East Lancashire Division.
On the 10th September 1914, the battalion sailed from Southampton in a convoy of fourteen transport ships for Egypt, part of the first Territorial division to leave England on Active Service. Passing Malta on the 21st September, (passing the regulars going the other way the next day) arriving Alexandria, 25th September. On arrival, half of B company stayed on board and proceeded to Cyprus, where they stayed until the battalion departed to the Dardanelles. The main part of the battalion then went to Port Said and sailed down the Canal to Port Sudan on the 30th September, a half company was left there to garrison the port. the remainder traveled on by train to Khartoum and relieved the Suffolks there. In the Sudan in the next three months, the battalion were alloted many different tasks including guarding the railways ( with armoured trains), occupying hill stations and even a half company being transformed into the British Camel Corps.
William Alfred Turner enlisted with the battaion on 22 February 1915. In April 1915 the battalion moved, after a pleasant stay, from Khartoum to Cairo. On the 3rd May the main battalion embarked aboard the 'Ionian' and on the 7th May they arrived at V beach Gallipoli as part of the 127th Brigade, 42nd (East Lancs) Division. Whilst William (being a new recruit) remained in Egypt, the battalion made its way to the front lines through trenches and gullies full of water. On the 4th June they advanced under a full moon and dug in in front of the turkish trenches. At 8.00 am the bombandment started and at 11.30 the battalion attacked the trenches in front of them. A & C coys took the first trench, B & D passed through them and took the next trench.At this point the battalion came under heavy fire from the right flank and rear causing many casualties. All day long the troops held the trench against turkish counter attacks with help from other Manchesters and LFs. The men were forced to abandon the forward position as the enfilading fire cut their numbers and no reinforcements arrived, the withdrawal proved to be more costly than the advance and the battalion lost many men. The survivors were rested on Imbros for a few days and then returned to the penninsula.
On 30th July, William arrived in Gallipoli to join the 7th Battalion A coy as part of a reinforcement draft. On the 6th August, the British bombardment started and the troops advanced up to Achi Baba, during the advance the 7th sent in C coy as reinforcements as streams of wounded men returned, later in the day another two companies were sent up to support the Worcesters. The men went through a 'tornado of fire' through the dead and wounded to try and find the stranded Worcesters. Eventually both companies lined up in a shallow gully and went about bringing in the wounded. It was decided that the only option was withdrawal and a the two companies were brought back in. In the morning the assault was renewed with a bombardment on the redoubt and the barracade that had caused so much trouble the day before. C and B coys advanced but it was obvious that the shelling had proved unsuccessful as men were mown down by the turkish machine guns. In late afternoon the survivors struggled back in and during the evening stretcher bearers brought in the wounded. This action was diversionary as the Australians attacked out of Suvla, it was later that month when the battalion heard it was all in vain.
On the 15th August the battalion was pulled out of the front line to Scotch dug-outs , two and a half miles behind the lin es where they were allowed some rest. On the 19th the 7th moved back up to the front, to Gully Ravine, where the routine of trench life of Gallipoli continued until the evacuation. Dysentary and diarrhoea, as well as turkish snipers reduced the ranks. When out of the trenches the men had other duties such as bringing up supplies and mining.
On the 5th of September William suffered an injury to his head and right eye, caused by a bomb. Also suffering from dysentery, he was evacuated to Mudros. On the 8th September the battalion moved to a new position, Border Barracade, where the 7th lost 13 men when the turks exploded a mine under their position, later they lost another three when a british trench mortar fell short. As the campaign slowly slipped into stalemate and men from the battalion were attached to various units as signallers machine gunners etc, putting strain on the ones left., their health suffered and the only relief from trench life was sea bathing. In October the battalion moved to Fusilier Bluff, close to the Turkish line.
In the spring of 1915 after being idle for some time, the Cunard Line ocean liner 'Aquitania' was converted into a trooper, and made voyages to the Dardanelles, sometimes running alongside Britannic or Mauretania. Aquitania then was converted into a hospital ship, and acted in that role during the Dardanelles campaig. On 22nd October William was sent home on the 'Aquitania' and admitted to the 2nd Southern General Hospital, Bristol and then to the convalescent depot at Heaton Park, Manchester.
On 19th November William was sent home to Greenside Lane for a period of ten days.
On 28th June 1916 he was transferred to the King's Shropshire Light Infantry.
On 30th June 1917 he was transferred to the labour corps and served with them until he was discharged to class W on 23rd March 1918. This class was ‘for all those soldiers whose services are deemed to be more valuable to the country in civil rather than military employment’. Men in this class were to receive no emoluments from army funds and were not to wear uniform. They were liable at any time to be recalled to the colours.
William was recalled to colours on 21st October 1918 and rejoined the labour corps for the remaining days of the war.

Source: L Brindley (2015)