Canadian Silver Memorial Cross : Mrs Annie Turner

Sterling silver cross superimposed on a laurel wreath. The centre of the cross bears the cipher GRI (for King George V). The end of the upper arm bears a king's crown; the other three arms a maple leaf. The cross is roughly engraved on the reverse 'D. TURNER. P.O. V.R. 1138'.

Associated with David L Turner who was born in Britain and served in the London Metropolitan Police Force, in V Division (Wandsworth). Sometime before 1914 Turner emigrated to Canada. It is not known whether he had met and married his Australian born wife, Annie, before he emigrated, or whether they were married in Canada. Turner enlisted in the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve (RNCVR) on the outbreak of the First World War and was assigned the service number VR/1138, attaining the rank of Petty Officer. He served in HMCS Shearwater, a sloop transferred from the Royal Navy. Shearwater's guns were removed at the beginning of the war, when she was located in British Columbia, and her crew were sent to man HMCS Niobe at Halifax. Shearwater was subsequently reconfigured as a submarine tender and largely remanned by her original crew who transferred to the Canadian west coast once more. Shearwater escorted two submarines, HMCS CC-1 and CC-2, in 1917, down the west coast of America, through the Panama Canal to Halifax. Turner, however died before the start of the voyage, while Shearwater was still in British Columbia. He is buried at Vancouver (Mountain View) Cemetery. His widow returned to Sydney to live with her family, together with her infant daughter. The Canadian Government sent this Memorial Cross to her. It was, and still is, issued to the mothers or widows of service personnel who have died on active service.