Turner, E.S. 1909-2006

(Rupert Lang, Ernest Sackville Turner)

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born November 17, 1909, in Liverpool, England; died July 6, 2006. Journalist and author. A longtime contributor to Punch magazine and other British publications, Turner wrote on travel and history and was well known for his many quirky books revealing little-known facts and trivia on an eclectic range of subjects. Growing up in a home of modest means, the young Turner had a sharp memory for facts and was an excellent student. However, he was uninterested in attending university and instead indulged his passion for writing by embarking on a journalism career. During the 1930s and through 1941, he worked in Glasgow for the Evening Times, the Evening Citizen, and the Scottish Daily Express. He was also a freelance writer for Punch, to which he would contribute articles for some fifty years. Turner served in the Royal Artillery during World War II. Afterwards, he edited Soldier magazine for the War Office from 1946 to 1957; for his performance he was named to the Order of the British Empire. While in this occupation, he published his first book, Boys Will Be Boys: The Story of Sweeney Todd, Deadwood Dick, Sexton Blake, Billy Bunter, Dick Barton, et al. (1948; 3rd edition, 1975). Absorbing facts like a sponge, Turner could write quickly on almost any subject, pouring out his knowledge at a rate sometimes as fast as one hundred pages of manuscript per day. Many other fact-filled and entertaining books would follow, including The Shocking History of Advertising! (1952; revised edition, 1965), What the Butler Saw: Two Hundred and Fifty Years of the Servant Problem (1962), An ABC of Nostalgia: From Aspidistras to Zoot Suits (1984), and his last book, Unholy Pursuits (1998). Turner also enjoyed writing the occasional novel, sometimes under the pen name of Rupert Lang. Among these are The Third Pip (1952) and Hemlock Lane (1968). Though he published fewer books in his later years, Turner continued to write articles almost until the day he passed away.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Times (London, England), July 20, 2006, p. 60.