Private Jack Turner

Jack Turner, son of Horace and Lily Turner, of Netherton, Dudley enlisted into The Royal Warwickshire Regiment.

He volunteered for airborne forces and qualified as a military parachutist on course 74, which ran at RAF Ringway from 23 July to 3 August 1943. The course report states: ‘Turner: Reliable paratrooper.’ 

Initially sent to a battalion holding unit Pte Turner was then posted to the 4th Parachute Battalion, The Parachute Regiment. Pte Turner served in Italy.

He died, aged 19, on 2 December 1943 and has no known grave, Pte Turner is presumed killed at sea aboard SS Samuel J Tilden when it was hit by an incendiary bomb and strafed by an enemy aircraft. The ship had to be sunk by British torpedos to prevent it from becoming a hazard to other shipping. 

The German air attack on Bari, Italy that killed Private Turner opened at 1925 hours 2nd December 1943, with bombers (105 Ju-88s) hitting allied merchants unloading supplies for the forces engaged in the battle for Rome. Fire on ammunition ships John Harvey and bomb hits on John L. Motley caused massive detonations that shattered windows seven miles away. A bulk gasoline pipeline and supply were severed and the gushing fuel ignited engulfing other ships. Seventeen merchant ships laden with nearly 35,000 tons of cargo were destroyed (5 American, 5 British, 3 Norwegian, 2 Italian, 2 Polish, with another 7 vessels heavily damaged). The port area was closed for three weeks and was only back in operation by February 1944. In total, 800 crew and civilians lost their lives.

He is commemorated on the Memorial to the Missing at Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey.