Michael Peter TURNER
1949 - 1993
The reason that I have chosen the lead photograph in this chapter is because it was taken as a result of Michael being ‘Best Student of the Year’ at Bradford Technical College in 1966 and the pose is so typical of his great love of all things associated with the motor car.
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1957 - Bolton Abbey
John & Michael TURNER
with Cho Cho & Beauty
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Michael was born on 4th April 1949 in St. Mary’s Maternity Hospital, Leeds, Yorkshire. I cannot remember much of his early life because of our age difference but I believe that he looked up to me as a big brother even though I was never able to protect him in that elder brother way that happens, particularly at school. He went to St. Bede’s Grammar School in Bradford but, unlike me, I believe he suffered from bullying. By the time he went to secondary school, I was already in the RAF and he never confided any problems to me.
Following in my footsteps, Michael started to play hockey but I don’t believe that his heart was really in it. I think that we only played together a couple of times for Adel and on one of those occasions, playing at Pudsey against Fulneck Old Boys, the weather was so atrocious that I told him to go off so that he could get dry and warm. I don’t believe that his hockey career lasted very long and I never asked Pop about it so cannot comment further.
He also started to play golf with Pop and I am told that he had a natural swing that could have made him a very good player. Sport however was not his love and once again his career did not last very long.
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1968 - RAF Swinderby
Michael TURNER
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In 1968, once again following in big brother’s footsteps, he joined the RAF as a MT mechanic and, after his training, was posted to Waddington. Whilst there he bought a Triumph Gloria, similar to the one that I had owned. The trouble was that it wasn’t drivable and it was in Coventry, a distance of about 75 miles. I had swapped my Ford Popular for a Hillman Super Minx, which was the worst decision of my life as far as cars were concerned. At the time however it was going pretty well and I took Michael to Coventry and towed the Triumph back to Waddington for him to work on. Its Registration Number was JF 8996, and it became his pride and joy for many years. I have included a photograph of the same car in 2011. I am so glad that it survives, unlike mine. In 1969 Michael was posted to El Adem, Libya for a year and then to Oakington in Cambridgeshire.
On 22nd August 1970 Michael married Susan JAMES at the Sacred Heart Church in Thornton. I was Best Man for a third time. In due course along came Paul Michael on 29th March 1973 and Sarah Jane on 2nd November 1977 to complete his family.
By the time that Sarah arrived, Michael had decided that the RAF was not where he wanted to be and he left and went back to Bradford to live and work. He found a job working for Geoff BRYSON, who, the reader may remember lived at Rosedene, next door to Oakroyd. Geoff, I believe, was a Director of a Wool firm in Bradford and they had a fleet of cars that Michael was tasked to look after. He loved this job, but maybe at cost to his family life. He and Sue had bought a little house in Thornbury, Bradford and also acquired two Pekingese dogs that they both loved. Unfortunately, Sue turned out to be allergic to them and they had to be re-homed.
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Back, Left to Right:
Andrew TURNER, Betty RITCHIE, Annette, Jack, John & Maria TURNER George RITCHIE
Front, Left to Right:
Doreen, Paul, Sue, Sarah, Nick & Michael TURNER
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I have included the above family photograph, taken at 51, Leysholme Crescent at Christmas 1979 because it includes the whole TURNER clan in happy times.
My family gained a lot from Michael’s job because I had three cars that came from there, two BMWs and my Renault 12. Andrew, Annette and Nick also got their first cars from Michael. Andrew got a Blue Fiat 128, Annette a yellow Talbot Horizon and Nick a Mk. 4 Cortina.
Mick, Sue and family subsequently moved to a semi detached house in Thornbury Avenue. I remember that Mick re-plumbed a lot of the house and he taught me something about plumbing on one of our visits.
I am not sure what happened to his job with the wool firm but at some stage, with Geoff BRYSON’s help, Mick bought his own garage in Clayton, Bradford.
Maria and I used to visit, rather irregularly, and on these visits to Thornbury Avenue, Sue would often disappear upstairs. I was not sure why this was but I have to confess to being rather naive in some respects and never really spotted anything wrong with their relationship. There was something wrong however and Doreen and Pop tried very hard to keep them together. In the end, however, they parted with Michael moving out of the family home. When we moved to Cornwall, our trips to Bradford became much less frequent, especially after Maria’s Mum moved to Newquay, and we saw much less of one another.
At some time, Mick developed kidney stones and I believe had two operations to remove them, necessitating huge cuts. He was also diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, which caused him no end of trouble, partly because he didn’t really look after himself properly. He worked hard and did not always control his food intake correctly. He told me that the doctor had changed his medication from pig to human based insulin and it was a real problem for him. Apparently, if his blood sugar was getting out of balance whilst on the pig based medication, he would get a warning and was able to correct it very quickly, however on the human based version, he got no warning and just passed out. To my knowledge this happened once in a supermarket and once in the garden and on both occasions he hit his head quite hard. There may have been other occasions of which I am unaware
In 1993 he drove down to see us in Newquay and appeared to us to have a good time relaxing with no work to do. He was by this time living alone in rented accommodation in James Street, Thornton. When he left, he presented us with a picture as a memento of his visit and drove home. Two weeks later, on 30th September, he died alone in his bedroom. His death certificate gives his cause of death as Hypoglycaemic Coma. An inquest was held on 22nd October and an open verdict returned.
He was cremated at Scholemoor Crematorium, Bradford and his ashes laid in the family grave in Thornton Cemetery together with his Mum.
May he Rest in Peace
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