Turner, Cecil Gordon (Sapper, b.1897)

Collection relating to the Second World War service of NX12898 Sapper Cecil Gordon Turner, 1 Railway Construction Company, Second Australian Imperial Force, Australia, at sea and the Middle East, 1940-1941.

Wallet 1 of 1 – Contains two folders of material relating to Sapper Cecil Gordon Turner.
Folder 1 of 2 consists of one diary of Sapper Cecil Gordon Turner, containing entries dated between 28 May 1940 and 12 December 1941. This diary covers Sapper Turner’s embarkation and service with 1 Railway Construction Company in Palestine, Egypt, Libya and Greece. In his diary, Sapper Turner writes about his embarkation from Sydney, New South Wales, life on board the ship, spending weeks in Perth, Western Australia, travelling across the Indian Ocean, being on submarine guard, having leave in Ceylon, arriving in Palestine, attending a lecture by a brigadier general, doing routine training, being ill with dysentery, working on the construction of a railway, being on guard duty, working alongside British troops, a lack of mail from home, the sabotage of the railway by local people, the weather, hearing news of the war, Christmas celebrations, moving to a camp in Egypt, travelling to Tobruk, seeing destruction caused by the war, enemy air raids, working on the transport of supplies to the front lines, injuring his knee, the destruction of ships in Tobruk Harbour, and evacuating from Tobruk. He goes on to write about travelling to Greece, loading medical supplies, seeing films, the explosion of an ammunition dump in Athens during an air raid, assisting wounded civilians, having trouble with nerves, being evacuated to Egypt, building railways, being ill, recovering in hospital in Palestine, and returning to Australia on a hospital ship.

Folder 2 of 2 contains reference material, consisting of one transcript of diary of Sapper Cecil Gordon Turner [contains spelling and grammar alterations].