30/08/2026
🌍 Officers of the Abyssinia Campaign #14
As part of our recent project to research and reinterpret our collection objects from the 1868 Abyssinia Campaign, we've been looking at the lives of the King's Own Officers on the expedition. This week we have...
🎖️ Frederick Cooper Turner (1843–1921)
Frederick Cooper Turner was born on 21 June 1843 in Exeter, Devon, as the son of John Fisher Lester Turner and Emily Arthur. Baptised on 2 August 1843 at St Mary Major, he was raised between Exeter and the vicarage at Winkleigh, alongside several brothers and sisters, including Mary Katherine, Margaret Isabella and Montagu Cornish Fisher. His brother Arthur died in India in 1864. Before joining the Regiment, he served as a Midshipman in the Indian Navy from 1858 to 1863. He was present at the assault on Fort Beyt and served with the Naval Brigade in the Okamundel Field Force at the capture of Dwarka in 1859. He later took part in the China Campaign, including the capture of the Taku Forts in 1860.
After these early years in the navy, Frederick joined the Regiment as an Ensign, serving in the Abyssinia campaign. His experience helped him rise to Lieutenant in 1870 and Captain in 1878. In June 1883 he became a Major, and later Lieutenant-Colonel. As his career developed, so did his personal life: by 1871 he was living in Aldershot and later for periods in Surrey and Devon, including residences in Kingston-upon-Thames and Surbiton. At the age of 38, Frederick married Emma Storey on 17 August 1881 in Surbiton.
Frederick suffered several personal losses during his lifetime, including the death of his father in 1871 and his wife, who died on 6 June 1910 in Galgate, Lancashire, after 28 years of marriage. The following year he settled in Ellel, Lancashire. On 5 December 1912, at the age of 69, Frederick married Grace Samuel in Hove. Even in old age, he remained militarily active, being recorded as late as 1917 during the First World War, at the age of 74. He died on 25 June 1921 at Westcroft, Kingston Hill, in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, just four days after his 78th birthday, and was buried locally in Kingston.
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