Basil Turner : Back row , far left .
Basil Turner 1932-2019
A Sevenoaks pupil from 1943 until 1951 , Basil Neil St . Clair Turner claimed to have read every book in the school library – which may well be true since every letter home always included a reference to his latest read !
A great storyteller himself , Basil would describe how he perfected descending the flight of stairs in School House in order to stay long as possible in bed . Working out that the bathrooms were less busy when everyone was on the way to breakfast , to make up time and avoid being too late and missing breakfast , he would literally jump dive down the steps before catching the rail near the bottom and pivoting to swing around the corner and dive the next flight !
His closing housemaster ’ s report says of Basil , ‘ friendly , considerate , thoughtfully efficient and trustworthy , loyal , a good influence and capable leader ’, qualities that led him to officer training at RAF Cranwell and his career in the Royal Air Force , until he retired in 1987 .
Basil trained as a navigator , flying in the Canberra and the famous Vulcan bomber , including Britain ’ s Blue Steel nuclear deterrent , travelling the world as aircrew , and furthering his passion for deep cave exploring in Italy and Yugoslavia .
‘ Thoughtfully efficient ’, Basil switched to administration , including base commander at RAF Alconbury , and Wing Commander at one of Europe ’ s largest air force bases , RAF Lossiemouth , responsible for its running , defence , and frequent royal visits . Appropriately , his final ‘ posting ’ was overseeing all officer recruitment to the RAF , based near Sevenoaks at RAF Biggin Hill .
Basil met Eleanor at a Young Farmers ’ dance and proposed a week later on their second date . They celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary in 2018 with their five grandchildren .
‘ I am sure he will make a good job of life ,’ says Headmaster James Higgs-Walker in his closing school report . He certainly did .
Richard Turner ( youngest son )
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