"Jum" Hubert Sydney Turtill (1 February 1880 – 9 April 1918) was a New Zealand dual-code footballer, playing

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and then

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

for New Zealand. After emigrating to Britain, he served in the British Army during the First World War, and was killed while serving in 1918.

Early years

Turtill's father died in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

when he was only three years old and his mother decided to move to New Zealand to be with relatives. On the sea voyage in 1884 he gained the nickname Jum, short for Jumbo. Turtill worked in New Zealand as a decorative metal worker.

Rugby union

He started his

career playing for Christchurch Albion before making the Canterbury team in 1902.John Haynes ''From All Blacks to All Golds: Rugby League's Pioneers'', Christchurch, Ryan and Haynes, 1996. He represented the South Island in 1903 and 1907. He became an

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

in 1905, playing against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Rugby league

In 1907 he joined the professional All Blacksbetter known as the All Golds'on their tour of Great Britain and Australia, thus joining the code that would evolve into rugby league. He was selected because he was considered well versed in wet weather football, something the side would constantly experience in Great Britain. On the tour he played in six test matches. Turtill captained the side in the first ever trans-Tasman test against the

Australia national rugby league team The Australian national rugby league team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competitions since the establishment of the game in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian Rugby League Com ...

on 9 May 1908 when New Zealand won 11-10. Turtill only scored one try on tour, but it was an important one - the first by New Zealand in a test match against Great Britain at Leeds on 25 January 1908 - and helped them win the series. Once the tour was over he returned to England with his wife, Mabel, originally intending to play for

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

. However he instead joined St. Helens where he also owned a

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

, the "Lord Nelson Hotel" in St Helens.

First World War

After the outbreak of the First World War, Turtill served with the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. He became a sergeant in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

422nd Field Company, 55th West Lancashire division, until he was killed in France in 1918 during the

Battle of Givenchy A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

.Coffey and Wood ''The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League'' CWGC entry
/ref> Turtill’s body was buried in a French war cemetery. From 2022 the

New Zealand Rugby Museum The New Zealand Rugby Museum, based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, is a museum dedicated to the sport of Rugby union. History Founded by John Sinclair and Dr Fred Spurdle the museum's first exhibition was in April 1969. The Rugby Museum Soc ...

has displayed a tribute to Turtill, including items on loan from his family, such as his Canterbury cap, New Zealand jersey and cap and his engraved war service medallion.

References

External links