Percival Stanley Turner

Percival Stanley (Stan) Turner, D.S.O., D.F.C.*, C.D.*, was born in Devon, England, on September 3, 1913. His family immigrated to Collingwood, Ontario. He was educated there and at the University of Toronto. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Auxiliary Squadron in 1936, and two years later went to England to join the Royal Air Force (RAF), where he received his wings as a commissioned fighter pilot.

At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Turner was posted to No. 219 Squadron, flying Bristol Blenheim fighter-bombers on night operations, and Hawker Hurricane fighters on night U-boat patrols over the Irish Sea. In 1940 he served with NO. 242 All-Canadian Squadron, then volunteered for duty in France with No. 616 Squadron until that country's capitulation to German forces in 1940. As part of 616 Squadron, he covered all phases of the Dunkirk operation as a fighter pilot, including the withdrawal of Allied troops. His squadron returned to England and came under the command and inspiration of Douglas Bader, the RAF's legendary legless pilot. Turner distinguished himself during the Battle of Britain.

Turner was promoted to Squadron Leader and given command of No. 145 Squadron at Tangmere in 1941. This unit was equipped with cannon-armed Spitfires for high-altitude bomber escort missions and fighter sweeps into France. R.A. Munro served under him there and later, when the squadron moved to Yorkshire as fighter protection for North Sea convoys. He became Senior Training Officer of No. 82 Group, in Northern Ireland, followed by appointment in 1941 to lead No. 411 Squadron.

Turner was then given command of No. 249 Squadron on the Island of Malta, and when that Allied stronghold came under enemy siege, he was named leader in 1942 of the Malta fighter wing. He was shot down in combat in 1942 but continued to command Malta's air operations during his convalescence. He initiated night bombing attacks with Hawker Hurricane fighters on enemy targets in Sicily.

When the siege was lifted, he was transferred to Egypt and the Desert Air Force which Raymond Collishaw had originated. From there he was posted to sea duty aboard the aircraft carrier, HMS Arethusa, and led his sea-borne fighters on the ill-fated attack on Tobruk in June 1942. HMS Arethusa was sunk during this operation, and he was ordered to HMS Orion on convoy duty into Malta. When he took command of No. 134 Squadron in the Western Desert, he led anti-tank Hurricane fighters against enemy armour, during which operations he survived a major crash. He was ordered to No. 417 Squadron in 1943 for the invasion of Italy and Sicily and promoted to Wing Commander and leader of No. 244 Wing of the Desert Air Force in Italy. He continued to show outstanding leadership abilities, resulting in destruction of enemy aircraft and ground equipment. When Italy surrendered in 1943, he took command of No. 127 Wing, RCAF, in Europe, where he led 2,000 personnel and 72 fighter aircraft through France and Germany.

At war's end Wing Commander Stan Turner was credited with destroying 14 hostile aircraft in combat and probably destroying six others, plus aircraft and equipment on the ground. He had fought on every front in Europe, North Africa and Malta, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and Bar, Czechoslovakia Medal of Honour and the Czechoslovakia Medal of Valour.

In 1946 Turner transferred to the RCAF and returned to Canada. After a tour of duty at the Royal Military College, he was appointed to command No. 20 Tactical Wing at Rivers, Manitoba. Postings followed as Command Senior Organization Staff Officer of the Northwest Air Command, and head of the Joint Air Training School. In 1951, while serving in Chatham, New Brunswick, he was named aide-de-camp to the Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick.

Turner was appointed to the Canadian Embassy in Russia in 1954 as Senior Military Air Attache with the rank of Group Captain. Three years later he returned to command the RCAF station at Lachine, Quebec. Following a systems management course in the United States in 1960, he was transferred to Air Defence Command as Administrative Project Chief for the construction of a new radar chain, which was completed in 1963. He also served as a Canadian officer with the United States Air Force Electronics Division during the period of construction of the ballistic missile warning system.

In 1963 he retired from the service to become a sales manager for a Montreal investment firm. He served as a senior executive of Expo '67 and 'Man and His World' at Montreal, Quebec, for four years. Turner died in Ottawa, Ontario on July 23, 1983.

Percival Stanley (Stan) Turner was inducted as a Member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 1974 at a ceremony held in Edmonton, Alberta.