This is the obituary of Harold Turner G4YRH : 17th August 1920 - 29th November 2009
"CQ WACRAL... this is G4YRH, 'YORKSHIRE RADIO HAM' calling..."
The call was clear, the voice distinctive, the signal always strong, the operator kindly and so positive. From the comfort of his home in the Yorkshire town of Shelf, located between Bradford and Halifax, he usually gave his location as... 'QTH on the Bottom Shelf'.
Harold Turner was one of the most famous and admired members of 'The World Association of Christian Radio Amateurs and Listeners'. Always the perfect gentleman and a keen and conscientious Christian, he was a dedicated amateur radio enthusiast and a stalwart supporter of WACRAL.
From 1989 to 1992, Harold served as the first Chairman of the Executive Committee that had been formed to manage the activities and to place the business affairs of the Association on a more formal basis.
The various weekly HF nets controlled by Harold and his team of specially authorised operators, did much to build the Association's membership and indeed, introduce a number of amateurs and shortwave listeners to a Christian way of life. By 1992 he reported that the worldwide membership had exceeded the 1000 mark and was still growing. He was instrumental in organising events such as the WACRAL 40th Anniversary celebrations from his church at Berry Brow and earlier, in 1988, the special event station GB75AUG at St. Augustine's in Bradford.
Harold's professional life as a Headmaster enabled him to present clear and concise information to listeners, also much in evidence in his meticulously kept logbook and records. He participated enthusiastically in the Association's public and press 'relaunch' in 1998, which updated the administration, its image and public relations and the 'on-air' presentation of nets.
He presented the new Sunday morning WACRAL net 'Prayer Slot', dedicated to the prayerful consideration of members and families (now opened up to all amateurs as the 8.15am 'Prayers on the Air' (POTA). He directed his team of net controllers to introduce the title 'GOOD NEWS NET' for Sunday operations and encouraged them to adopt an innovative format that asked all participants to make an initial 'call-in' of only 30 seconds, thus ensuring that all stations were heard before the passing of news.
Harold's funeral took place on Thursday 10th December 2009 at his beloved St. Michael and All Angels Anglican Church at Shelf, at which WACRAL was represented by Geoff G0PFH, who said that 'it had been a privilege to attend and to represent WACRAL as well as mourning a friend's passing'.
"G4YRH de M1CRA - May God Bless You OM. 501 de M1CRA SK"
G3JNB January 2010
Memories of G4YRH - Harold (SK)
I am certain that there are many people who knew Harold Turner far better than I, indeed it is difficult to even think of saying anything about him that won't be seen as shallow and insufficient. However, having found a photograph recently, I was reminded of a very pleasant day that I spent with Harold when he put on ?a 40th Anniversary celebration Special Event Station at Berry Brow. I realise that although some of my memories of the day are still quite clear, some of the details are not! I am over 20years older!
It was a fine day and Harold had parked his caravan such that it was in an ideal location to act as an improvised 'Shack'. When I arrived to help he was puzzling about setting up the antenna(s) and clearly needed help. We soon had it all sorted and set up and the idea was that we should entertain and demonstrate Radio to some of the local schoolchildren. Having been a teacher before I moved up to West Yorkshire I was very comfortable with that. Harold of course was a Headmaster and had contacts in the area. You can see from the photograph below how well-behaved the children were, and I think they were interested in the fact that we could talk to people a long way away. (You must remember that speaking to people at a distance in those days was unusual and often very expensive - today's youth are used to mobile phones and email and think nothing of having conversations with people abroad!)
?I know that Harold and I had a good day. He was an easy person to work with, and very tolerant of my inexperience as a Radio Amateur. I believe I had my G0PQE callsign then, but I was not an expert - partly due to the fact that we had re-located up to West Yorkshire in 1995 as my wife had just been stationed as a Methodist Minister in Bradford. This was why I was living in the area. My Radio activities had been curtailed by the move and the loss of my beautiful Summerhouse Shack and a decent antenna setup! Sometimes in ministry one has to make sacrifices...
?I look back on that day as a privilege and an experience that I will not forget... RIP Harold - a true Yorkshire Radio Ham and a gentleman in both senses of that word!
?Memory by: Revd Robert Gee GW0PQE, current webmaster for WACRAL