Turner

Theater: France WWI
Nationality: British
Formation: BEF
Position: Infantry Corporal
Status: Active

Vickers-HMG-WWI.jpg"
Turner and his mates sighting a Vickers gun

Introduction:
Private William Turner is fresh from a coal mining town within Yorkshire. The lad is brash and foolhardy but gets along with just about any of his mates in the trenches. Not above the more 'menial' aspects of the job he doesn't mind lending a hand to dig a trench or to keep the ammunition coming for the Vickers. All in all he's a real team player.

He's been recently promoted to Corporal - having been chosen to help lead an assault into the German trenches. It was a desperate affair but they managed to take and hold despite heavy counter-artillery, grenades, and then hand to hand combat.

Background:

William 'Bill' Turner was born to Edward and Natalie Turner in a small village within the county of Yorkshire, England. Proper protestants they were very much a typical English family of the time, his father one of the supervisors at a nearby coal mine. The family wasn't terribly well off but were fairly comfortable when compared to the predominantly poor coal miners whom toiled under his father's supervision. Despite the disparities, his father was generally well-liked by the workers due to his jovial personality and interest in keeping his workers as safe as can be hoped for in the usually appalling conditions associated with coal mining.

While Bill learned temperance and joviality from his father - it was from his mother that he learned courage and not always to trust the status quo. Natalie (some say this caused his father to be passed over for advancement) took part in some of the local suffragette movements as well as some of the social programs within the village. Despite these programs mostly being dominated by 'society women' or at least what passes for society in 'Yorkshire' - his mother was usually a welcome sight at such functions due to her rather vocal support.

Through his schooling Bill Turner never really stood out academically. Inspite his father spending a sizeable portion of the family's not wholly impressive income to see the boy schooled properly - the rather droll accounting of knowledge never piqued his interest terribly. Not a stupid boy by any meassure he was instead drawn into the more social aspects of schooling whether it be keeping the ear of a small cadre of like-minded lads to perhaps shaking down a more pliant mate for some change - he usually understood people.

When Britian declared war on Augusth 4th, 1914 against the German agressor - Mister Turner lead his motley crew of lads down to the enlistment office. For many of them it would be an adventure and a chance to escape the coal mines. Or at least so young William told them …

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