A Second War Legion of Merit Award Document and Citation, along with a French Legion of Honour, Chevalier's (Knight) Breast Badge Award Document for North-West Europe Service, to Brigadier William Arthur Scales Turner, CBE, MC, Royal Artillery, British Army; Legion of Merit Award Document (inscribed "THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TO ALL WHO SHALL SEE THESE PRESENTS, GREETING: / THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ORDER ISSUED BY GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON AT HEADQUARTERS, NEWBURGH, NEW YORK, ON AUGUST 7, 1782, AND PURSUANT TO ACT OF CONGRESS, HAS AWARDED THE LEGION OF MERIT Degree of Officer TO Brigadier W. A. S. Turner, British Army FOR EXTRAORDINARY FIDELITY AND EXCEPTIONALLY MERITORIOUS CONDUCT IN THE PERFORMANCE OF OUTSTANDING SERVICE / GIVEN UNDER MY HAND IN THE CITY OF WASHINGTON THIS (Blank) DAY OF (Blank) 19 (Blank)", embossed with the War Department seal at the bottom, flanked by the signature of Robert P. Paterson, Secretary of War at the lower left and the signature of President and Commander-in-Chief Harry S. Truman at the lower right, the image of the Legion of Merit printed in four color inks, the text in black ink, 252 mm x 303 mm, board-mounted); Legion of Merit Citation ("THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON" letterhead, inscribed "CITATION FOR THE LEGION OF MERIT Degree of Officer / Brigadier W. A. S. Turner, British Army, served from May 1944 to May 1945 as Assistant to the Director and later as Deputy Director of the Public Relations Division, Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force.
He was instrumental in the preliminary planning for Public Relations activities in the invasion of northwest France and later organized and supervised the operation of film and photo coverage of the campaigns in western Europe. Through his tact, ingenuity and meticulous spirit of abnegation, he played an exemplary role in composing the many nationalistic difficulties in the allocation of war correspondence to insure proportional representation and the establishment of equitable quotas throughout operations on the Continent. He contributed immeasurably to the efficient operation of the Public Relations Division and to the successful conclusion of the war against Germany.", with the original signature of President and Commander-in-Chief Harry S. Truman at the lower right, the letter head in blue ink, the text in black ink, 205 mm x 267 mm, board-mounted); French Legion of Honour, Chevalier's (Knight) Breast Badge Award Document (inscribed "RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE / ORDRE NATIONAL DE LA LÉGION D'HONNEUR / HONNEUR PATRIE / M. le Brigadier W.A.S. Turner 4793 / H.q. S.H.A.E.F. / est nommé Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur / pour prendre rang du 25 Octobre 1945 / Fait à Paris, le 30 Octobre 1945 / Vu, vérifié, scellé et enregistré No, 53003 / Le Chef du 1er Buréau, / Parle le Governement Provisoire de la République Française, / Le Grand Chancelier de la Légion d'Honneur," (French Republic / National Order of the Legion of Honour / Honour of the Country / Brigadier W.A.S. Turner 4793 / Headquarters S.H.A.E.F. (Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force) / is appointed Knight of the Legion of Honour / to assume the rank as of October 25, 1945 / Made in Paris, October 30, 1945 / Seen, checked, sealed and registered No, 53003" / signed by "The Head of the First Office / For the Provisional Government of the French Republic," / signed by "The Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honour,"), printed in black ink on a thick white paper stock, 326 mm x 552 mm); and Instruction as to Wearing Insignia Card for the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire C.B.E. (Military) Commander's 2nd Type Neck Badge, named in typewriter text "Brig. W.A.S. Turner. M.C. / C.B.E. Mily." on the reverse, text printed in blue ink on a cream-coloured card stock, 66 mm x 139 mm). Both the Legion of Merit Award Document and the Legion of Merit Citation are sunned, the French Legion of Honour, Chevalier's (Knight) Breast Badge Award Document lightly soiled with fold marks, along with tape residue evident on the reverse. Very fine.
Footnote: William Arthur Scales Turner was born in January 1890, the son of William Henry Turner of Leicestershire and was educated at the Leys School and Trinity College, Cambridge. He was commissioned in the Royal Artillery in December 1911 and left for service in France on August 7, 1914, where he served in "I" Battery, Royal Horse Artillery until transferring to 2/"A" Battery, Honourable Artillery Company at Langemarck in November 1917. Turner was gassed during a heavy enemy bombardment near Loos on April 6, 1918 and was evacuated with three officers and sixty other ranks, but he returned to duty in the following month, when he resumed command of the Battery as an Acting Major near Mazingarbe. However, the effects of almost four years continuous active service were beginning to surface, and a few weeks later, he was invalided home suffering from shell-shock. He was awarded the Military Cross, his unit's history stating that it was "difficult adequately to express the admiration of all ranks of the Battery, and indeed of the Brigade, for this officer." In the rank of Captain (Acting Major) during the First World War, Turner was awarded the Military Cross, the announcement appearing in the Second Supplement to the London Gazette 30716 of Friday, May 31, 1918, on Monday, June 3, 1918, page 6471. During the interwar years, Turner held a succession of staff appointments, as he was appointed Assistant Adjutant-General in February 1935 and was placed on the Retired List as a full Colonel in 1937. He was quickly re-employed at the Public Relations Department of the War Office, appointed a Deputy Director in 1941 and served in a similar capacity at Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force from 1943 to 1945, credited with masterminding the success of the Allied Film and Photographic Sections in North-West Europe. The original recommendation from Lieutenant-General F.E. Morgan, Deputy Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force states: "Since its inception, Brigadier Turner has served as senior British representative in the Public Relations Division, SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force), first as Assistant Chief and then as Deputy Chief of the Division. In addition to his general Public Relations duties Brigadier Turner has had particular charge of the Film and Photo Section.
Brigadier Turner's work has throughout been of a very high order of excellence. Not only has he been outstandingly successful in maintaining harmony among all sorts and conditions of British correspondents but he has managed over a long period to compose the many and varied international differences inevitable in a Public Relations Organisation of the nature of that set up for the recent campaign in North-West Europe. His untiring efforts and unfailing imperturbability have earned the respect of all with whom he has come in contact. The undoubted success of the Public Relations aspect of the operations can be attributed in large measure to Brigadier Turner's devoted efforts." Upon the successful conclusion of the these operations, he receive three awards: in the rank of Brigadier (Temporary) during the Second World War, he was awarded the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire C.B.E. (Military) Commander's 2nd Type Neck Badge, in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in North-West Europe, the announcement appearing in the Supplement to the London Gazette 37204 of Tuesday, July 31, 1945, on Thursday, August 2, 1945, page 3953 and the Legion of Merit, Officer's Breast Badge, the announcement appearing in the Supplement to the London Gazette 37340 of Tuesday, November 6, 1945, on Thursday, November 8, 1945, page 5461. He was also awarded the French Legion of Honour, Chevalier's (Knight) Breast Badge on October 30, 1945, assuming the rank as of October 25th. In addition to being a recipient of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire C.B.E. (Military) Commander's 2nd Type Neck Badge, the Military Cross GVR (reverse privately engraved, "Major W. A. S. Turner, R.H.A., 3rd June 1918"), the United States Legion of Merit, Officer's Breast Badge, and the French Legion of Honour, Chevalier's (Knight) Breast Badge, he was the holder of eight other awards, seven of which were British, including the 1914 Star, 1 Clasp - 5th AUG.-22nd NOV. 1914 (2 Lieut., R.F.A.), the British War Medal (Major), the Victory Medal with M.I.D. oak leaf (Major), the 1939-1945 Star (Brig. W. A. S. Turner), the France and Germany Star (Brig. W. A. S. Turner), the Defence Medal (Brig. W. A. S. Turner) and the War Medal 1939-1945 with M.I.D. oak leaf (Brig. W. A. S. Turner), along with the French Croix de Guerre (War Cross) 1939 with Bronze Palm.