Ken Turner C.581
Died 31st August 2010
KEN TURNER of Woodford Green AC (as then called) passed on at the age of 77 years. He resided at Stambourne in North Essex and was a retired City of London Police Inspector. In his working life he'd always been much respected, especially when in charge of educating his Force's Cadets.
His sporting interest commenced with both weightlifting and power lifting before he engaged himself in the world of athletics. His favourite event was, of course, race walking. Statiscian Colin Young has unearthed results of him from the local Open 7s and 10Ks - indeed he was a regular at Ilford's Christmas 10K around hilly Chigwell Row. He was well inside the hour for 10K, however it was over 20 Miles and 50K that he excelled. Indeed, with his strength, long distances appealed more to him and Ken relished the annual challenge of the Police Long-Distance Championship over that epic 33 miles course from Barking Police Station to Southend Football Ground - following roughly the route of the old A13. Fellow Woodford Green AC member, City-of-London retiree and former Essex 50K Champion Vic Collins reminds us that, in fields of up to 300 and with a true class entry up front, Ken never finished outside the top 15! That was some feat!
Ken finest 24 hours came on May 28th/29th 1976 at Ashtons Playing Fields Track in Woodford Bridge as his Club promoted a 24 hours walking race. Ken came 5th covering 103 miles 1,434 yards. He passed the 100 miles point in 22 hours 53 minutes and 36 seconds, which earned him membership of the exclusive Centurions Club - only open to amateur athletes who had completed a 100 Miles walk in under 24 hours. He proudly became Member No.581. And together with Club colleague George Eastwood, he helped Woodford Green AC to win the team trophy. Those around at that time can remember just how much Ken planned for this race, with a wad a notes - painstakingly compiled - containing his race tactics, plans and personal pace chart.
Ken had also completed 100 Miles in a Long Distance Walkers event over the South Downs with Vic Collins as a fellow member of that Woodford Green team, and when Vic won his Essex 50K title in 1979 (when all the big names raced) around a now defunct Basildon course, Ken was his attendant. Ken could also run and his strength saw him enter the National Police Marathon, in conjunction with the Rotherham Marathon. Again he planned his schedule to perfection and had it written down on wads of paper...and it paid dividends as he finished sub-4 hours.
Ken, a Parkinsons sufferer, was a widower having lost his wife some 7 years earlier. His sister Mrs.June Pearce, and her husband are organising matters and a funeral service is to be held on Wednesday 22nd September at 3pm, with a function afterwards. The venue is the 3-Counties Crematorium, Halstead Road, High Garrett, Nr.Braintree, Essex. CM7 5PB. June would like as many walkers as possible to attend and all will be welcomed.
At the family's request, no flowers but donations in lieu to Parkinsons UK (cheques made payable to this charity please).
Tributes:
"He was a very smart man and also a gentleman". - Dave Sharpe, who qualified as a Centurion in the same event as Ken.
Ken TURNER was a real motivator and supporter in the City of London Police and I well remember his epic 100 miles at Ashton Playing Fields Track. Being a weightlifter and larger than average in size and weight for Race Walking he did remarkably well. I remember well organising the race from Barking to Southend with over 300 entries toeing the line. It was a terrible day with continuous heavy rain but a great event to be part of. -
Kath & Bill Sutherland
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David Christie-Murray C.155
David Christie-Murray died on 22nd March 2010 aged 96.
Sandra Brown went to visit David last year to hear his recollections for the Centurions archive. On informing Sandra of his death, this is what Sheila Christie-Murray wrote:
He really did appreciate your coming to visit him. I'm so glad you came?when you did and made contact, even if he seemed a bit vacant some of the?time. You did make an impact for he referred back to you and his walking?quite a bit thereafter. Thank you!
Sandra attended the memorial service and spoke of David’s walking achievements:
"For those of you here today are athletes, David was both a much-loved fellow club member and one of the most outstanding athletes of his generation. Those who are not athletes are now, I hope, agog to learn more about this aspect of David’s life.a young man, David entered a one mile race-walk – “For a lark”, as he told me. He did well and enjoyed the experience. The following year, he won that event, and then another, and decided “This was the sport I had been looking for, in which I could fulfil an ambition to excel athletically.” He became a member of Surrey Walking Club, and race-walking was to be an important part of his life for 20 years, through the 1930s and 40s.
“What fun we had!” David told me, when he contributed his recollections for the book which marked the centenary of Surrey Walking Club in 1999. While David was competitive, it was very clear to me how much the friendship of fellow walkers meant to him. Whatever the outcome of a race, he told me, he liked the satisfaction at the end of the day of knowing that he and others had simply given their best.driven and self-coached in his sport, David reached the top of his game in an age when race-walking was a very popular sport, and Britain’s best walkers were among the very best in the world. Of a strong physique, David thrived on tough and hilly courses like those around Hampstead and Highgate, and Surrey’s own courses.’s walking friends and rivals in the 1930s were, with him, the great walkers of their time and included household names like the 1936 Olympic gold medal walker Harold Whitlock. David never walked in an Olympics. Had the Olympic Games been held in 1940 and 1944, David would have been a near-certain selection.in 1948, he came very close to selection for Great Britain. How did David deal with this disappointment? Let me read his own words. “Could I bear to watch the race, having failed in a life-time ambition [to walk for Britain in the Olympic Games.] I decided my duty was to follow the race on a bike and cheer on my successful rivals at every possible place along the route. I’m glad I did, for, instead of eating my heart out at home, seeing the race in the flesh cured me of all regret and disappointment.”July 1951, David achieved what many still consider as the summit of their walking career, when he became Centurion number 155 – race-walking 100 miles from London to Brighton and back in 19 hours 31 minutes 51 seconds. Fortunately, the 104 miles event ended on Saturday evening, since David, as a Minister of the church, did not race on Sundays. On one occasion, he refused an invitation to race internationally because this would have meant racing on Sunday.
was the 40th anniversary of the Centurions. Next year in 2011, the Centurions will celebrate our centenary, sadly without David there to help mark the occasion. David regarded becoming a Centurion as a fitting end to his competitive walking career. It gives me great pleasure, on behalf of the Centurions and Surrey Walking Club, to honour a great athlete, much-loved clubman and good sport.
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