During their visit to Bradford Industrial Museum, three generations from the same family discovered photographs of their war hero ancestor from the Belle Vue Studio. Lieutenant Commander Robert Turner D.S.C. R. N.V.R. was the commanding officer of HMS Oliver, who was awarded both the Distinguished Service Cross and the Atlantic Star.

We are thrilled that Robert’s son, daughter, and grandson could tell us more about the man who was not only a celebrated war hero, but also a Bradford businessman, a father, a grandfather.

Credit: The Turner Family, photograph taken by John Ashton.

“Dad always wanted to go to sea, and his younger brother James wanted to be a musician, but my grandfather would have none of it.  Dad would run the family business, and James would run a hoped for future family business development a grocery chain!  Both quietly rebelled over time as Dad went into the second world war navy, and James became a BBC musician of some distinction working for ENSA.  In the end both brothers had their own way.

Credit: The Photo Archive of Bradford District Museums and Galleries

Dad was born in Bradford in 1902 and left school and went straight into the family business as a teenager after some training in book keeping and what we now call business administration.  As was the custom in those days he helped out at the family factory that made mattresses stoking the boiler early to get the steam up, and sounding the steam whistle before leaving.  He also helped as a boy in the retail furniture shop at 69  Godwin Street Bradford.

“In the interwar years, the would-be Lieutenant Commander raced motor bikes up Sutton Bank and on the seaside sands“

In the interwar years the would be Lt. Commander raced motor bikes up Sutton Bank and on the seaside sands, using pistons supplied by Mr. Tommy Hepworth of the later to be famous Bradford company of Hepworth & Grandage, there was also an association with Scott Motorcyles riding their machines.  He joined the Bradford Rifle Club learning to shoot, a skill used in WW2 to finally dispose of swept mines.  With WW2 looming sometime in the 1930’s he joined the West Riding RNVR going to sea on trawlers to gain seagoing experience, perhaps hoping for advancement in the RNVR.  When the war actually came he was called up by the navy eventually taking command of the Tree Class Minesweeper HMS Olive.  This ship one of we think eight minesweepers built specially for war time service, some of which were sunk on active service.  He once said he did not expect to survive the war but his nickname “Lucky Turner” saved him!

Credit: The Photo Archive of Bradford District Museums and Galleries

In June 1943 he was given the DSC by the navy for reasons unclear to his present family, although it was suggested at the time by his mother that it was for some sort of secret work.  He made more than one trip to Dunkirk to pick up allied soldiers so we think this may have been why he was awarded the DSC.  As the war ended he was sent by the navy to the Dutch Danish and German dockyards to inspect and send home any minesweeping gear he thought might be worth our own experts investigation, so we guess after 7 years of minesweeping he must have known what was important and what was not.  In about 1947 he was employed by the MOD in London in the naval division and we know he was offered a permanent post commission.  His association with the navy lasted till about 1962 as he and others were retained in case they were needed again, keeping up to date by attending naval establishments for two weeks training every year.

In the end after some roaming the country he came back to Bradford in 1951 re-entering the retail carpet and furniture trade working at one time for Brown & Muffs on Market Street Bradford.  Post war Britain was not always a comfortable place for ex-servicemen, and Dad certainly had his difficulties but he never gave up, always worked and eventually moved to Farnborough Hampshire the county he liked a lot retiring from work in his seventy fifth year.  We as a family are pleased that the Bradford Industrial Museum have given Dad the recognition he certainly deserves, a brave man who saved lives in the second world war, doing a very dangerous and perilous job, saving lives not setting out really to take them.”

Robert Turner, July 2023

You can read more in the Telegraph and Argus here.

Discover more from the Belle Vue Studio here (and see if you can find anyone you know)!