Frank Newman Turner
Frank Newman Turner | |
---|---|
Bingen, Germany | |
Nationality | British |
Alma mater | Leeds University, University of Glasgow |
Occupation(s) | Farming, writing, publishing, complementary medicine |
Spouse(s) | Lorna Mary Turner (nee Clark); m 6 June 1939 |
Children | Three sons |
Frank Newman Turner, NDA, NDD, FNIMH, (11 September 1913 – 28 June 1964) was a British pioneering
Early life
Frank Newman Turner was born in
After managerial positions on farms in
Organic farming
Inspired by the work of
He also established the Institute of Organic Husbandry which held a series of weekend courses on organic farming and gardening and attracted visitors from as far afield as North America, Australia, and India.[7] Visitors to Goosegreen Farm included the author and organic farmer, Robert Henriques, Fyfe Robertson, of Picture Post, Lady Eve Balfour, founder of the Soil Association, Laurence Easterbrook, Juliette de Baïracli Levy, Doris Grant, author of Your Daily Bread, and writers and artists such as Elspeth Huxley, Reginald Reynolds, and Ethel Mannin, as well as Richard de la Mare, the agricultural editor of the publisher Faber & Faber which later published Newman Turner's books. Henriques and Grant were also among the trustees of the Producer Consumer Whole Food Society which was founded and sponsored by The Farmer to put growers and consumers of organic produce in touch with each other.[8] Newman Turner also served on the council of The Soil Association.[9]
Writing and publishing
Before Sir Albert Howard died in 1947, he had urged Newman Turner to write about his experiences in restoring the farm and building a herd of prize-winning pedigree Jersey cattle. However, Newman Turner was keen to accumulate even more practical evidence and it was not until 1951 that Faber & Faber published Fertility Farming. This was followed by Herdsmanship (1953) and Fertility Pastures (1955). In 1950 he had published a booklet under The Farmer imprint, "Cure your own Cattle". After an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the UK beginning around Jan-Feb 1951,[10] he offered to take infected cattle into his herd to demonstrate that animals fed on organic pasture would have immunity to the disease or recover with natural treatment.[11] The Ministry of Agriculture rejected this challenge. Newman Turner was in demand as a spokesman on natural farming and animal rearing, appearing regularly on regional radio stations and, for a time, on BBC television's The Smokey Club, a pet care programme presented by the zoologist George Cansdale.[12]
He is also known to have been one of many notable figures sketched or painted by the portraitist, Elva Blacker.[13]
Human health
In 1953 Newman Turner and his family sold Goosegreen Farm and moved to the Ferne Estate, near
The Farmer had featured a supplement on organic horticulture and, in 1957, Newman Turner launched The Gardener, Small Livestock and Pet Owner as a monthly magazine with eminent horticulturist
In the early 1950s Newman Turner set up a company in Bridgwater, Organic Herbal Products, to supply natural pet foods and herbal remedies and, in 1962, with his wife, Lorna, Inter-Medics Ltd. a company importing herbal medicines and health food products from Germany and Switzerland. Neither of these is still operating. He died of a heart attack while visiting herbal suppliers in Bingen, Germany on 28 June 1964.[15]
Bibliography
- Newman Turner, Frank (2009). Cure your own Cattle. Reprint. [1st pub. 1950. Bridgwater, Somerset: The Farmer Publications.] Austin, Texas: AcresUSA. ISBN 978-1-60173-008-4.
- Fertility Farming (1951). London, Faber & Faber Ltd. Revised edition (2009). Austin, Texas, AcresUSA. ISBN 978-1-60173-009-1
- "Foot and Mouth Disease -Its Prevention and Cure. A challenge" (1952) London, Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society.
- Herdsmanship (1952). London, Faber & Faber Ltd. Revised edition (2009). Austin, Texas, AcresUSA. ISBN 978-1-60173-010-7
- Fertility Pastures (1955). London, Faber & Faber Ltd. Revised edition (2009). Austin, Texas, AcresUSA. ISBN 978-1-60173-011-4
- Herbs, Flavours and Spices, by Elizabeth S Hayes (1963) Ed. Newman Turner. London Faber & Faber Ltd.
- Against the Grain The life of Frank Newman Turner, by Roger Newman Turner (2022) London, Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd. ((ISBN 9781787108035))
References
- Notes
- ^ Newman Turner 2009. Note from the publisher, F. Walters, to Newman Turner Fertility Farming revised edition.
- ^ Wilkinson, Ian (2011). "Herbal Leys" (PDF). Cattle Breeder (Spring 2011).
- PMID 19700720.
- ^ "Cattle Natural Health: Managing Cattle Health Naturally". ACS Distance Education. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
- ^ For more information on herbal leys, fasting, and botanic remedies, see e.g. [2] [3] [4]
- ^ Conford 2011, p. 407.
- ^ Conford 2011, p. 410.
- ^ The Farmer, Winter 1946, p. 45
- ^ Conford, P. (2001) The Origins of the Organic Movement. Edinburgh, Floris Books,p.90
- ^ The London Gazette, 13 February 1951, p. 802
- ^ Newman Turner, F. (1952). Foot and Mouth Disease - Its Prevention and Cure. A Challenge. London: Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society.
- ^ "The Smokey Club, 12 January 1957". BBC Genome Project. BBC Television. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
- ^ Exhibition catalogue of artist Elva Blacker with details of a Newman Turner portrait
- ^ The Farmer, Autumn 1956, p12
- ^ "Died in Germany: Mr. F. N. Turner was on business trip". West Briton and Royal Cornwall Gazette. Truro. 2 July 1964. p. 12. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
- Sources
- Conford, P. (2011). The Development of the Organic Network. Edinburgh: Floris Books. ISBN 978-0-86315-803-2.