O B I TU A RI ES
Alan’s musical ability increased greatly and he took up the clarinet
and saxophone, performing at wartime concerts and dances in
Exeter, entertaining the many American troops who were billeted
in the city, and playing at a street party on V-J Day to celebrate the
end of hostilities.
After the war, he studied clarinet and piano at the Guildhall
School of Music, going on to play in dance bands touring Britain
and Ireland. It was during this time that he met his future wife,
Eileen Meenaghan. They married on New Year’s Eve 1949 and
settled initially in Enfield and then Potters Bar, where they lived
for over 40 years. They were blessed with three children – Delia,
Anne and Daniel.
Alan continued playing music professionally but the decline of
dance bands in the late 1950s meant that work started to dry up.
Nor was a musician’s life suitable for a family man. Away from
music, Alan had excelled at electronics, and he became a quality
control engineer, retiring in 1985. He and Eileen moved back to
Exmouth, where they spent their last years.
Always a musician at heart, Alan continued playing the saxophone
and piano for many years and was still playing the recorder a few
weeks before he passed away at home, seven days short of his
95th birthday.
Despite having had such a long life, he never forgot his years at
Sevenoaks School, wearing his Old Sennockian tie with pride and
always ready to give a rousing (and word-perfect) rendition of the
school song. He bequeathed his matched set of clarinets to the
school in the hope that they would inspire young musicians as he
was inspired.
Delia Pemberton
John Turner 1928-2019
John Colyer Turner died peacefully at home on 8 January 2019 aged
90, nine weeks after losing Muriel, his beloved wife of 70 years.
John was a pupil at Sevenoaks School in the latter part of the
Second World War and it was here that he discovered his talent and
passion for running. A champion cross country runner, he ran for
the school and for Kent, achieving many first prizes.
He recounted many stories of his schooldays, including when the
German V-1 bombs (doodlebugs) flew over on their way to London.
If their engine cut out everyone knew that the bomb was about to
fall. My father and his school friends would dive for cover and wait
for the explosion. Fortunately they were never caught in a direct
hit. He and his friends got up to all sorts of pranks, including
placing fireworks in fire buckets and lighting them, then hiding
while they exploded. According to him, they never got caught
during these antics.
On 30 October 1948 he married Muriel, the love of his life.
I arrived six years later, and was to be their only child. After having
successfully pursued two very different careers – fruit and pig
farming at the beginning of his working life, and later hospital
operating theatre technician, he retired in 1987, only to continue
working hard on his smallholding.
While John was at Sevenoaks, the Headmaster used to take the
boys into the town in his Rolls-Royce, as a treat. My dad often
spoke about this beautiful car and how he would love to own
one. In 2015, when he was 87, his ambition was fulfilled when we
were able to buy him a classic Rolls-Royce. By this time he had
developed Alzheimer’s disease, but he was still fairly mobile.
We took him to collect the car, and he had no idea where we were
going. When he saw it and realised it was his, he was absolutely
overwhelmed and ecstatic. He loved being driven in it.
Muriel passed away on 6 October 2018 aged 96. Once John fully
understood this, his health declined rapidly until his death.
John was always happy and smiling. Even during his final illness,
he never complained, and was always content and cheerful. He
was much loved, and my husband Colin and I miss him terribly.
However, I feel very privileged to have had such a wonderful,
humble, contented and caring father.
Margaret Burling (née Turner)
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