Mount Turner

This mountain was named in 1918 in honour of Lt. General Sir Richard Ernest William Turner. Mount Morrison (48025-032) and Mount Turner stand together. This is no coincidence as Morrison and Turner fought side by side in 1900 with the Royal Canadian Dragoons during the South African War. They were under the command of Brigadier-General Horace Smith-Dorrien. The Dragoons were a cavalry unit and had been ordered to cover the retreat of a British “search and destroy” column which was operating in the Komati river basin. The retreat was a slow operation. With only a single colt machine gun, the Dragoons were not in a strong position to defend the column. Lt. Morrison wrote, “I turned in my saddle and . . . Square across our rear a line of Boers a mile long was coming on at a gallop over the plain, firing from their horses. It looked like a spectacular finale in a wild west show. They were about 1500 yards away, but coming on rapidly and shooting at our gun, most of them, to try and stop it . . . I thought indeed we saw our finish.” Two troops of the Dragoons, one under the command of Lt. Turner, dismounted to try to hold off the attack. For his part in the action Lt. Turner was awarded the Victoria Cross, the citation reading, “When the guns were in danger of being captured, Lt. Turner, although he had already been twice wounded, dismounted and deployed his men at close quarters and drove off the enemy, thus saving the gun.” During the First World War, Lt. General Turner commanded the Canadian troops who held their positions during the first poisonous gas attacks at Ypres in 1915. Later, he became responsible for the training of all Canadian troops in Britain.