Thomas Wilson Turner (1909 - 1980)

Born 30 Jul 1909 in Springside, Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland.

Ancestors

Husband of Agnes (Banks) Turner — married 26 Oct 1945 in Stewarton, Ayrshire, Scotland.

Descendants

Died 8 Jul 1980 at age 70 in Ballochmyle Hospital, Mauchline, Ayrshire, Scotland.

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Joe Turner [send private message]

Biography

Thomas was born in Springside in 1909.^[1] Worked as a coal miner after leaving school until the second world war. He was keen to join the army, but coal mining was a reserved occupation, so in order to join the army he had to leave his job. He joined the army and was put into the Pioneer Corps, this was due to an eye injury he had received as a boy where part of his iris was missing (his friend cutting a nail using a pair of pliers, part of the nail hit his eye). In 1945 after the war he got married,^[2] and moved to Wellington in Shropshire where he worked in a factory (Sankeys) painting tractor wheels. After two years he moved back to Springside and went back to coal mining. He worked in the Warrix Pit for a few years then moved to Lochlea mine (near Mauchline) as it was opening up, he worked there until he had to leave for medical reasons. He next worked in an engineering factory in a lighter job operating an overhead crane. He collapsed at work and was taken to hospital where he was unconscious for three days, after waking up he was diagnosed with a collapsed disc in his back. He never worked again. He was in his early fifties. He passed away in 1980 and although the death cert. only gives pneumonia as the cause of death, the doctor at the time told me it was oxygen starvation caused by a huge amount of stone dust in his lungs. The doctor said after the autopsy that he had removed his lungs as evidence and advised my mother to pursue a claim against his long term employers the Coal Board for death caused by an industrial disease. My mother did this and was awarded a small cash sum as compensation. ^[3] Other medical problems he suffered from.-- Chronic low blood pressure, hardening of the arteries in his legs, a cyst in one of his lungs, some of the vertebra at the shoulder area had fused together and as mentioned above in his lower back he had a collapsed disc that caused him to have constant pain. On top of these problems he suffered from what is called today PTSD from the D-day landings where he worked in a casualty clearing station. (My thoughts - this was never officially diagnosed) I remember as a child watching him on Saturday nights when he came home from the pub sitting looking into the fire and crying for hours. He was also obsessed with training me and my brother what to do to survive the next war.

This is from personal knowledge.