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James William Cecil Turner F/Mc Married: 1924 Beatrice Maud Stooke F/Mc | ||||||||
| James Charles Robin Turner [CFT #2519] Born: 1930-Jul-14 Died: 2022-Jan-11 |
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| b Cambridge d Exeter The following In Memoriam is by Jeremy Black #12321 Arriving at Exeter as the Established Chair in History in 1996, I was fortunate to find hospitality from Sarah?s #2639 relatives and they remained a constant and welcome presence of my years teaching there. Sarah?s mother had died youngish, and this led Sarah, already family-minded, to be closer to her uncles and aunts than with most. There were six Turner children (four girls and two boys) and the eldest of both lived in Exeter: Auntie Jennifer #2591 and Uncle Robin#2519. They were very different. Jennifer might be a snob with the manners of a grande dame but she was an individualist of great interest. Gin seemed to pour from an open spigot at her home, though food was more in accord with her birdlike figure than the needs of some visitors. Formidably clever (she was a philosopher and historian of science), the very well-read Jennifer was a conversationalist of note, who liked ideas, relished debate, and had wonderful throwaway lines (discussing why she had told a biographer only so much about Ayer, she remarked ?I do not like to boast of my conquests?). It was easy to understand why Robin told me that he felt bullied by his sisters (two of whom were elder). He had followed his father (a Cambridge academic in international law and a county-class cricketer) into academe and sport. Educated at Cambridge, he became an academic in Chemical Engineering and a Fellow of Pembroke College, before moving to Exeter as head of Chemical Engineering, Dean of Science et al, and, in particular, a power in the university when Sir David Harrison was VC. I had met him as Sarah?s uncle when I taught at Durham in 1980-95, but came to know him at Exeter. Visits to his house at Church Stile and reciprocals were very frequent indeed. Robin and Anne were both warm people and ran a welcoming home. Good meals, ease and pleasant conversation. Very family minded. He and I had only so much in common due to my total lack of interest in sport, any sport, but Robin was always agreeable and we always talked. Indeed, I noticed that he cheered up when I saw him shortly before his death. A motivated teacher and hardworking servant of subject and university, Robin had a visiting chair at the University of Oregon and consultancy work, and had a range of interests that reflected a fertile mind. Among his accomplishments, aside from his deep knowledge of sport, were a performance skill in magic tricks, a consummate gardening practicality, and a knowledge reflected in wide ranging collections. Robin was by temperament and conviction a conservative. The beneficiary of a very close marriage to Anne, and the father of Julia, Caroline and Michael, Robin, who had a succession of strokes, made it into January 2022, dying at 91. A thoroughly good man. |
1: 1960 Catherine Julia Turnerc H 2: 1962 Michael John Cecil Turnerc W/C 3: 1962 Jean Caroline Turnerc | |||||||
| 3 Children | ||||||||
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