Maurice Joseph Lawson Turnbull (1906 - 1944)

Born 16 Mar 1906 in Cardiff, Wales

Husband of Elizabeth Olga Rowley (Brooke) Turnbull — married 7 Sep 1939 in Holy Souls Roman Catholic Church, Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England

Died 4 Aug 1944 at age 38 in K.I.A. near the village of Montchamp, Normandy, France

Major Maurice Joseph Lawson Turnbull was Killed in Action during World War II.

Biography

Major Maurice Joseph Lawson Turnbull of the Welsh Guards (1906-1944), was born in Cardiff on 16 March 1906, the third of the six children of Philip Bernard Turnbull (1879-1930), ship-owner, and his wife Annie Marie Hennessy Oates (c.1879-1942). His father was a Welsh international hockey player who won a bronze medal with the Welsh team at the 1908 Olympics.

Maurice was educated at Downside School and Cambridge University.
He was a Test Cricketer, former Captain of the Glamorganshire County Cricket Club and Welsh International for Rugby Football and Hockey.

He married Elizabeth Brooke at Scunthorpe, Lincs., in 1939, and they had three children: Sara, Simon and Georgina.

Major Turnbull served in the First Battalion of the Welsh Guards in the Second World War. He was killed instantly by a sniper's bullet during intense fighting for the French village of Montchamp after the Normandy landings in 1944. His body was recovered from the battlefield by one of his men, Sergeant Fred Llewellyn, and his personal possessions sent home to his family.[

Sources

Dictionary of Welsh Biography

CWGC Record

freeBMD Marriages Sep Q 1939 Scunthorpe 7a 2815 Brooke Elizabeth O R + Turnbull Maurice J L

Census

1939 Register for 119 Rhydypenan Road , Cardiff C.B., Glamorganshire, Wales:
Maurice J Turnbull D.O.B. 16 Mar 1906 : Male : Insurance Master Partner Secretary Various Sports Clubs : Married