Tributes paid to Waterlooville war hero Ted Turner

HE WAS a celebrated war hero who never forgot the fallen comrades he left behind on the bomb-scarred beaches of Normandy.
D-Day veteran Ted Turner, 90, from Waterlooville, pictured last OctoberD-Day veteran Ted Turner, 90, from Waterlooville, pictured last October
D-Day veteran Ted Turner, 90, from Waterlooville, pictured last October

And now the late Ted Turner will finally be reunited with the friends he lost in the Second World War – when his ashes are spread in France.

The former Royal Marine, of Stakes Road, Purbrook, died on February 25 – just two days after having hip surgery.

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On Friday, about 150 mourners paid their final respects to the 90-year-old during his funeral at St John the Baptist Church in Purbrook.

The ceremony came almost a year after Ted received the Legion d’Honneur – France’s highest medal for valour – for his heroics during the D-Day landings.

Paying tribute to him, his nephew Ron Sanderson, 64, of Harting Gardens, Portchester, said: ‘He was a true gent who touched so many lives.’

Ted was given military honours at his funeral, with the Union flag draped over his casket and a guard of veteran Royal Marines saluting him.

Guests came from far and wide to pay their respects.

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Among them were Regimental Sergeant Major Warrant Officer 1 Phil Gilby, Royal Marine, Commander Steve Shaw, Royal Navy, the deputy lord lieutenant of Hampshire, Colonel Charles Ackroyd and three other Second World War veterans.

Ted’s friend Sue Harper said: ‘It was a very emotional service. There were men who started to cry.’

Ted was born in Hilsea on September 3, 1925 and attended St Francis Church.

He joined the Marines in January 1943, being stationed at Eastney Barracks and then at Fort Gomer in Gosport.

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On June 5, 1944, aged 18 he sailed across the Channel in a Canadian landing craft as part of the D-Day invasion, helping to secure a beachhead on Juno beach while under constant fire from German soldiers and aircraft

After the war the Pompey fan joined Wadham Stringer, Southsea, as a vehicle sprayer.

He and his late wife, Enid, also ran the 1st Purbrook Brownies for many years.

Ted’s ashes will be spread in Normandy later this year.

He leaves no children.

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