{{Short description|British Royal Navy commander}} {{Infobox military person | honorific_prefix = Rear-Admiral | name = Charles Turle | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE|DSO}} | image = File:Rear-Admiral Charles Turle in 1929.jpg | image_size = | caption = Captain Turle, 1929 | birth_date = {{birth-date|23 March 1883}} | death_date = {{death-date and age|16 March 1966|23 March 1883}} | birth_place = Blackheath, Kent, England | death_place = Osborne Bay, Isle of Wight | burial_place = | nickname = | allegiance = {{flagu|United Kingdom}} | branch = 23px Royal Navy | service_years = 1904–1945 | rank = Rear-Admiral | unit = | commands = HMS ''Frobisher''<br>HMS ''Resolution''<br>HMS ''Orion''<br>HMS ''Drake''<br>HMS ''President''<br>Ocean Convoys<br>HMS ''Eaglet''<br>HMS ''Nile'' | battles = First World War<br>Second World War | awards = Companion of the Distinguished Service Order<br>Commander of the Order of the British Empire | other_work = }}
Rear-Admiral '''Charles Edward Turle''', {{Postnom|country=UK|CBE|DSO|sep=,|size=100%}} (23 March 1883 – 16 March 1966) was a senior Royal Navy commander. Born in Kent, Turle was commissioned as a naval officer in 1903 and would serve in World War I and World War II, reaching the rank of Rear Admiral. He was the principal British Naval Attaché in Athens from 1929 to 1941, and thus played an important role in the naval aspect of the Greco-Italian war and subsequent German invasion of Greece.
== Early life and World War I == left|thumb|British net-drifters during the Otranto Barrage, 1918. Born on 23 March 1883 in Blackheath, Kent, Charles Edward Turle was the son of Edward Turle and his wife Jessie Elizabeth (''née'' Kieser).<ref>{{Cite book |title=Turle, Charles Edward |date=1898 |publisher=The National Archives}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=430rhznNVhoC |title=Debrett's Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage |date=1921 |publisher=Dean & Son |isbn=9354415075 |pages=1961 |language=en}}</ref> Educated at Wellington College, Turle began his naval career at a young age, entering HMS ''Britannia'' in September 1898.<ref>"Naval & Military Intelligence". Issue 35591. ''The Times.'' August 10, 1898. p. 6.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dejBM16bTlEC |title=Wellington College Register, 1859-1923 |publisher=Hunt |year=1923 |pages=226–227 |language=en}}</ref> He was commissioned a temporary sub-Lieutenant on 15 July 1903 and confirmed in his rank the following year.<ref>{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gdVGAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA120 |title=The Navy List |date=1906 |publisher=Admiralty, Great Britain. H.M. Stationery Office |pages=121 |language=en}}</ref><ref>[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/27696/page/4558 No. 27696]. ''The London Gazette''. 15 July 1904. p. 4558.</ref> For the annual manoeuvres of 1904, he commanded the torpedo boat HM ''TB 67'' (1885),<ref>"Appointments for the Naval Manoeuvres." Issue 37442. ''The Times''. 4 July 1904. p. 12.</ref> and by 1912 was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant commander.<ref>{{Cite web |title=(191) - Navy lists > Quarterly > 1914 > October - British Military lists - National Library of Scotland |url=https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/91901058?mode=transcription |access-date= |website=digital.nls.uk}}</ref>
At the outbreak of war in 1914, Turle was appointed as a torpedo officer on HMS ''Glory'' until 29 November. He was then transferred to the Royal Navy Reserve, serving on HMS ''President'' under Captain Leonard Donaldson. In May 1915, he was appointed in command of a net drifter ''Realize'' under Commodore Richard Bevan. Turle was promoted to the rank of Commander on 31 December 1915.<ref>[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29423/supplement/90 No. 29423]. ''The London Gazette.'' 31 December 1915. p. 90.</ref> In March 1918, he was appointed second-in-command of the Otranto Barrage, a naval blockade between Italy and Corfu which was intended to prevent the Austro-Hungarian Navy from exiting the Adriatic into the Mediterranean. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his service during this period.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Turle, Charles Edward - TracesOfWar.com |url=https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/74830/Turle-Charles-Edward.htm |access-date=2023-10-10 |website=www.tracesofwar.com}}</ref><ref>[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31811/supplement/2864 No. 31811]. ''The London Gazette''. 5 March 1920. p. 2864.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yz7NJebrlpYC&q=Turle |title=The V. C. and D. S. O |date=1924 |publisher=Standard art book Company Limited |pages=356 |language=en}}</ref>
== Inter-war period == left|thumb|The heavy-cruiser HMS ''Frobisher'', c. 1924:Turle's first command. Turle retained his rank of Commander following the war. In November 1918, during the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War, he was sent to Crimea to visit the Tsar's ageing mother, Maria Feodorovna. Arriving on HMS ''Tribune'' and accompanied by a White-Russian officer, the mission was to inform the Dowager Empress of Royal concern for her safety and implore her to return with them to Constantinople.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cook |first=Andrew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GsxnAwAAQBAJ&dq=romanov+Korostovzov&pg=PT149 |title=The Murder of the Romanovs |date=2010 |publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited |isbn=978-1-4456-0796-2 |language=en}}</ref> In 1919, he was appointed as mine clearance officer (MCO) on board HMS ''Caesar'', which was based at Constantinople and serving in the Aegean Sea and Black Sea.<ref name=":1" />
Turle was promoted to Captain on 31 December 1921. In July 1924, he took command of the newly constructed ''Hawkins''-class cruiser HMS ''Frobisher'', which was assigned to the 1st Cruiser Squadron of the Mediterranean Fleet. The fleet-commander was Rear Admiral Lord Cork, to whom Turle served as Chief Staff Officer during this period.{{Sfn|Halpern|2011|p=23}} ''Frobisher'' was then posted to the China Station, where she was based at the Singapore.{{Sfn|Halpern|2011|p=608}} He was appointed as Director of the Naval Air Division, Admiralty, in April 1930.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mWzEs2cy7j4C&q=charles+edward+turle+royal+navy |title=The Aeroplane |date=1930 |publisher=Temple Press |series=2 |volume=38 |pages=658 |language=en}}</ref> From 1933 to 1934, he was naval ''aide-de-camp'' (ADC) to His Majesty George V.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939–1945 – T |url=https://www.unithistories.com/officers/RN_officersT2.html |access-date=2023-10-10 |website=www.unithistories.com}}</ref> Turle was then appointed as head of the British Naval Mission to the Hellenic Republic in 1929.<ref name=":1" /> In October 1931, he was appointed as Commander, Order of the Redeemer for service in Greece from 1927 to 1929.<ref name=":0" /><ref>[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/33758/page/6304 No. 33758]. ''The London Gazette''. 2 October 1931. p. 6304.</ref> In October the following year, he was given command of his first battleship, HMS ''Resolution''.{{Sfn|Farquharson-Roberts|2015|p=120–132}}thumb|HMS ''Resolution'', a ''Revenge''-class battleship, which Turle commanded in 1932–1933. He was promoted to Rear-Admiral on 12 February 1934; however, placed on the retired-list the following day.<ref name=":1" /> On 21 April 1938, Turle married Jane Gillies Gray, at St George's, Hanover Square, London, the daughter of James Gray, {{Postnom|country=UK|DL|JP|sep=,}}, of Wemyss Bay, Renfrewshire, Scotland; the couple had two sons, the eldest of whom was SAS officer Arish Turle.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kFw-AQAAIAAJ |title=Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage |publisher=Kelly's Directories |year=1963 |pages=1972 |chapter=Turle, Henry Bernard}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=7 January 2020 |title=Arish Turle obituary |language=en |work=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/arish-turle-obituary-xh6vfpjt5 |issn=0140-0460}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=4 March 2020 |title=Arish Turle, SAS officer who won an MC in Oman and helped build up Control Risks – obituary |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2020/03/04/arish-turle-sas-officer-won-mc-oman-helped-build-control-risks/ |access-date= |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> == World War II == At the outbreak of World War II, Turle was recalled by the navy and re-commissioned with the rank of Commodore. He was, again, sent on a naval mission to Athens. In October 1940, Italian forces invaded Greece and Turle was the senior British naval advisor in assisting the Greek defence. The Corinth Canal in Corinth played an important role in the Greek defence, disproportionate to its size, and Turle, on behalf of the Allied Navy, was forced to oversee its destruction. This was done to prevent the Italian forces from receiving oil from the Black Sea and sever the German supply line from reaching Rommel's ''Afrika Korps''.{{Sfn|Alexiades|2015|p=1898}} He also suggested using the captured Italian submarines to block ports, such as Durazzo.{{Sfn|Alexiades|2015|p=1919}} The Hellenic army was able to repel the initial Italian invasion in April 1941, but later succumbed to a reinforced German attack. In 1941, he was appointed Grand Officer of the Order of George I ({{Langx|el|Basilikon Tagma toy Georgioya A|links=no}}), with swords.<ref>[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35315/page/6084 No. 35315]. ''The London Gazette''. 17 October 1941. p. 6084.</ref>
He was mentioned in dispatches (MD) frequently throughout his career, but was particularly noted for services in ocean convoys in 1944. The same year he served on HMS ''Nile'' at the naval base at Alexandria, Egypt until 1945.<ref name=":1" /> He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire the following year in 1945 for his services in the relief of Greece.<ref name=":0" /><ref>[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/37220/supplement/4123/data.pdf No. 37220]. ''The London Gazette''. 10 August 1945.</ref> He retired shortly thereafter.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cWkwAQAAMAAJ |title=Who was who: A Companion to Who's Who, Containing the Biographies of Those who Died |date=2002 |publisher=A. & C. Black |isbn=978-0-7136-6125-5 |pages=826 |language=en}}</ref>
== Later life == Turle died at Osborne Bay, Isle of Wight in 1966.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite news |title=Issue 56582 |date=17 March 1966 |work=The Times |page=14 |issue=56582}}</ref> His ashes were ceremonially scattered at sea on 26 March 1966 and he was then cremated at Whippingham Crematorium, Whippingham. He was survived by his wife, Jane, and two sons, Arish and Gillies.<ref name=":3" />
== Foreign honours ==
* 45x45px Commander, Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (Italy) * 45x45px Commander, Order of the Redeemer (Greece) * 45x45px Grand Commander, Order of George I (Greece)
== References == {{Reflist}}
== Bibliography == * {{Cite book |last=Alexiades |first=Platon |title=Target Corinth Canal: 1910-1944 |publisher=Pen & Sword Military |year=2015 |isbn=9781473827561}} * {{Cite book |last=Carr |first=John |title=The Defence and Fall of Greece 1940-1941 |publisher=Pen & Sword Military |year=2013 |isbn=978-1781591819}} * {{Cite book |last=Farquharson-Roberts |first=Mike |title=Royal Naval Officers from War to War, 1918-1939 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2015 |isbn=978-1137481955 |edition=1st}} * {{Cite book |last=Halpern |first=Paul |title=The Mediterranean Fleet, 1919-1929 |publisher=Navy Records Society (Routledge) |year=2011 |isbn=978-1409427568 |edition=1st}} {{Authority control|qid=Q123002664}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turle, Charles}} Category:1883 births Category:1966 deaths Category:Royal Navy officers of World War I Category:Royal Navy officers of World War II Category:People of the Greco-Italian War Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from Blackheath, London Category:People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Category:Military personnel from the Royal Borough of Greenwich Category:Military personnel from the London Borough of Lewisham