This street is named in memory of Private Frederick Arthur Turner
Frederick Arthur Turner was born on the 4th of January 1921 in London, ON. Growing up on Elm Street, he enlisted in 1939 and was assigned to the Royal Canadian Regiment. Turner landed with his Regiment at Pachino in Sicily on 10 July 1943 as a Regimental signaller in the command group.
After taking their initial objective, the Regiment advanced further inland and a week after landing in Sicily, the Canadians had pushed the Germans out of several strategic hilltop towns and villages. But the enemy dug in to make a determined stand at the town of Agira.
On 24 July, the RCR were advancing along a railway line and were making good headway, when they came under heavy fire from German positions on the mountain slopes. In the confusion of battle, the RCR's advance unit became separated from the main body and contact with it was lost.
Realizing that those men could be wiped out or captured, the Commanding Officer (CO) decided to lead his command group to find the advance unit. As the command group advanced towards the crest of a hill, German machine guns opened up from two sides, catching the Canadians in a crossfire. The CO was struck and seriously wounded. Private Turner immediately rushed to the aide of his CO but was also hit. His platoon commander wrote, “Your son (Fred) did one of the bravest things I have ever seen in my life. He left his place of cover and crawled to Col. Crowe's side to render him assistance…It was there he met his death….I have never met a more honest, brave or noble man than Fred“. Private Frederick Arthur Turner was buried at the Agira Canadian War Cemetery.
