Hubert Turtill
Encyclopedia
"Jum" Hurbert Sydney Turtill was a New Zealand
rugby football
er who was part of the professional 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain.
when he was only three years old and his mother decided to move to New Zealand to be with relatives. On the sea voyage in 1884 he gained the nickname Jum, short for Jumbo. Turtill worked in New Zealand as a decorative metal worker.
career playing for Christchurch Albion before making the Canterbury team in 1902. He represented the South Island in 1903 and 1907. He became an All Black in 1905, playing against Australia
.
. He was selected because he was considered well versed in wet weather football, something the All Blacks would constantly experience in Great Britain. On the tour he played in six test matches and captained the side in the first test in Australia in 1908. Turtill only scored one try on tour, but it was an important one - in a test match against Great Britain - and helped them win the series.
Once the tour was over he returned to England with his wife, originally intending to play for Salford
. However he instead joined St. Helens where he also owned a pub, the "Lord Nelson Hotel" in St Helens.
, Turtill served with the British Army
. He became a sergeant in the Royal Engineers
until he was killed in France
in 1918.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
rugby football
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
er who was part of the professional 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain.
Early years
Turtill's farther had died in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
when he was only three years old and his mother decided to move to New Zealand to be with relatives. On the sea voyage in 1884 he gained the nickname Jum, short for Jumbo. Turtill worked in New Zealand as a decorative metal worker.
Rugby Football
He started his rugby unionRugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
career playing for Christchurch Albion before making the Canterbury team in 1902. He represented the South Island in 1903 and 1907. He became an All Black in 1905, playing against Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
.
Rugby League
In 1907 he joined the professional All Blacks on their tour of Great Britain and Australia, thus joining the code that would evolve into rugby leagueRugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
. He was selected because he was considered well versed in wet weather football, something the All Blacks would constantly experience in Great Britain. On the tour he played in six test matches and captained the side in the first test in Australia in 1908. Turtill only scored one try on tour, but it was an important one - in a test match against Great Britain - and helped them win the series.
Once the tour was over he returned to England with his wife, originally intending to play for Salford
Salford City Reds
Salford City Reds are an English rugby league club based in Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1873, they currently play in the Super League. They have won six Rugby Football League Championships and one Challenge Cup...
. However he instead joined St. Helens where he also owned a pub, the "Lord Nelson Hotel" in St Helens.
World War I
After the outbreak of World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Turtill served with the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. He became a sergeant in the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
until he was killed in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1918.
See also
- List of international rugby union players killed in action during the First World War
- Dave GallaherDave GallaherDavid "Dave" Gallaher was a New Zealand rugby union footballer, best known as the captain of "The Originals", the first New Zealand national rugby union team to be known as the All Blacks....
, also killed in World War I.