William Thomas Turner
William Thomas Turner , OBE (born October 23, 1856 in Liverpool , † June 23, 1933 ibid) was an English captain , including on the Lusitania at the time of her sinking.
Early career
As the son of Captain Charles Turner, William Turner was enthusiastic about seafaring from an early age. He went to sea for the first time at the age of 13 and only barely got away with his life when the Grasmere sank in a storm off the Northern Irish coast. Nevertheless, he then set out on his second voyage, circumnavigated the Cape of Good Hope and met his father's ship, the Queen of Nations , near the Guanape Islands , to whom he transferred and returned to England via Cape Horn . After further trips, he moved to the Cunard Line in 1878 with the rank of 4th officer . He received his captain's license in 1886. His first command was the Aleppo , which served the Mediterranean routes. On August 31, 1883, he married his cousin Alice Elizabeth Hitching in Manchester and had sons Percy Wilfred (1885) and Norman Henry (1893) with her. However, the marriage broke up soon after the birth of the second son. In 1903 Alice moved out of the marital household with the children and went with them to Australia .
Ascent
Turner's further rise was hampered by the fact that he did not correspond to the ideal of a Cunard captain. In addition to the nautical qualities, a captain was expected to entertain the first class passengers. Turner, on the other hand, was known to be gruff, avoided the captain's dinner whenever possible, mistaking his passengers for "a bunch of damn monkeys that babble all the time." Apart from compulsory social events, however, he certainly had time for the needs of his passengers, especially when they concerned the ship. So instead of avoiding him, the passengers sought his vicinity and asked when making the reservation where he would be in command. Impressed by this, the Cunard Line gave him further commands, including on the Carpathia .
Since then his career has taken a steep upward turn. After the then captain of the Lusitania retired in 1908 , Turner received the ship on his recommendation. After two years he moved to Mauretania , with which he set a new record: from Liverpool to New York and back in just twelve days. In 1913 he was promoted to Commodore , and the following year he commanded the Aquitania on her maiden voyage. The outbreak of World War I briefly halted his career as almost all of Cunard's ships were called up for military service. It was not until 1915 that he received the new ship Transylvania .
The Lusitania and its consequences
In April of that year, the current captain of the Lusitania , Captain Daniel Dow, could no longer withstand the stresses of the constant threat from submarines . He was recalled, and William Turner returned to the Lusitania for her final voyage . The Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U 20 on the way back from New York off the Irish coast (for details see RMS Lusitania ). Turner survived the accident.
After the disaster, Turner faced serious allegations that he had negligently or deliberately endangered his ship. He is said not to have zigzagged as it is supposed to be. The accusations culminated in the Admiralty's statement that the Germans paid him for it. During the public inquiry, Turner was acquitted of all guilt. Doubts about it remained, however, and haunted him for the rest of his life. His wife Alice, who lived separately from him, emigrated to Australia with his sons in response to the investigation and thus finally removed them from his control.
After the downfall
Despite his tarnished reputation, Turner soon received a new ship. The war was still going on and capable captains were needed. In military service, he commanded the Ivernia , among other things , with which he was sunk again by a torpedo hit, although this time he had adhered to the prescribed zigzag course. Turner survived this downfall too. After the war, he retired and went back to Liverpool with his longtime housekeeper and lover, Mabel Every. Winston Churchill's memoirs re-hit the headlines for war and doom, and the press again harassed Turner with charges of guilt. He tried to find his sons in Australia but failed. In 1929 he developed cancer and died in his Liverpool home.
literature
- Mitch Peeke et al. a .: Lusitania & beyond. The story of Captain William Turner . Avid Publ., Bebington 2001, ISBN 1-9029-6414-4 .
- English: Captain of the Lusitania. The remarkable life of Commodore William Thomas Turner . Stormbreakers Verlag, Elmshorn 2003 ISBN 3-936160-02-3 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Des Hickley / Gus Smith, Lusitania, German translation by Knaur, 1981, chapter 9, order for the zigzag course, page 93.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Turner, William Thomas |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English captain, including on the Lusitania at the time of her sinking |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 23, 1856 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Liverpool |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 23, 1933 |
| Place of death | Liverpool |