Description
Queen’s South Africa Medal, 3 bars, Relief of Kimberley, Paardeberg, Driefontein, 3322 Private G. Turner, Gloucester Regiment, Killed in Action at Driefontein 10/03/1900.
A very rare Fatal Casualty, one of 5 from the regiment who were KIA at Driefontein.
Officially engraved: “3322. Pte: G. Turner. Glouc: Rgt. W. Cox”.
An official correction to “Rgt” and “W. Cox” has been contemporarily added at the end of the naming, some sort of memoriam?
Private G. Turner was killed in action with the 2nd Battalion The Gloucestershire Regiment earning his final Battle clasp at the Battle of Driefontein on 10th March 1900.
He is now commemorated on a plaque in Cathedral Chapter House. Also commemorated on the Bristol Boer War Memorial, on Queen’s Road. The granite memorial records 251 casualties, with Turner amongst the 52 KIA men of all 7 battalions of the Gloucesters in the war.
Roll-of-Honour.com has some excellent photographs of the Bristol Memorial.
In his final action, at Driefontein, on 10th March 1900, he was engaged with the 13th brigade, who had the toughest work of the day. The Gloucesters after the battle had lost 5 killed and 20 wounded.
According to Angloboerwar.com section on the 2nd Gloucesters, they battalion had recently received a favourable report from the War Correspondent of the Press Association for their services at and after the previous Battle of Paardeberg:
“Telegraphing from Paardeberg on 26th February said: "Last Monday night (19th) a brilliant piece of work was performed by the Gloucesters. During the afternoon they approached within a short distance of a Boer kopje and contained the enemy until nightfall, when 120 men charged the kopje with bayonets and drove off the Boers with loss, bayoneting several". On 28th February Lord Roberts wired: "Cronje with his family left here yesterday in charge of Major General Prettyman, and under an escort of the City Imperial Volunteers' Mounted Infantry. Later in the day the remaining prisoners left under the charge of the Earl of Errol, and escorted by the Gloucester Regiment and 100 City Imperial Volunteers". The Gloucesters soon rejoined the main army to take part in some further hard marching and fighting.”
Lieutenant Savage recalled the bravery of one of his men in an action fought by 2nd Battalion, at Driefontein, shortly after Cronje’s surrender at Paardeberg:
“Another outstanding case was a young soldier whose name unfortunately I cannot remember. He belonged to my section. We were moving towards our objective in extended order, bullets and pom-pom shells were too frequent to be pleasant, and all the time he kept murmuring the word “Mother”. We were now drawing near to our goal and the firing intensified. The order was passed – “Fix Bayonets,” then “Charge.” I could never fathom the change which came over him. Still muttering that adorable word “Mother” he charged, sometimes using his bayonet and then his magazine, into the very thick of it as though the tradition of the “Old Slashers” depended upon him. His example brought others less daring to his side until we reached the summit of the hill and victory.”
