Overview
- The Taxi Charity for Military Veterans announced on Saturday that Donald Turrell had died on Friday at the age of 101, saying he passed away surrounded by his family.
- Turrell enlisted at 17 after forging a parental permission note and served as a rifleman in the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) with postings across the UK before deployment to Normandy.
- He landed on Sword Beach in the days after D‑Day and was seriously wounded on 10 July 1944 near Eterville during fighting for Hill 112, injuries that led to a medical discharge.
- Tributes from the Taxi Charity and family highlighted his warmth and public role in remembrance, with the charity’s vice president Dick Goodwin praising his character and long service to commemoration events.
- Turrell’s story also reflects wider wartime loss and memory: his older brother Leslie was killed when HMS Penelope was sunk in February 1944, and Turrell returned to the Normandy area in 2024 and attended public ceremonies thereafter.