Lev Turnovsky

Lev grew up on the estates leased by his father and fore-fathers in the area known today as Havličkův Brod. According to documents relating to the family history, the estates encompassed Termeshof (now Termesivy), Julienhof and Frauenthal (now Pohled). Lev completed his Abitur also called Matura in Havličkův Brod in 1937 and started studies in Chemistry at Prague University. Then Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia.

Lev's uncle Dr. Paul Schwarzkopf provided Lev with an affidavit for the United States. He also organized a student's visa, as the president of Bates College in Maine, luckily was on the board of directors of the plant that his uncle owned in Lewiston. After many visits to the authories (American Embassy, German Gestapo and the Czech Authorities) Lev was able to leave Czechoslovakia via Italy on the ocean liner "Conte di Savoia". He arrived in New York on March 16. 1940. where he first went to Ellis Island for a few days. After being released he joined his Uncle Paul and Aunt Mary in Riverdale. Lev started studies at Bates College but after a very short time continued his Chemistry studies at Ohio State University. His masters dissertation can be viewed (if one can open the file) in the source section. After getting his Masters, Lev went to Canada and considered doing a doctorate at McMaster University. While in Canada Lev enlisted with the Czech airforce in exile, which operated as part of the British RAF. His military record is documented in the sources. His initial training after 1942 was at St Athan in Wales. Later he was with the RAF Coastal Command as a navigator/bomber (flight sergeant) in the Czech squadron 311 based at Leuchars in Scotland. He spent the rest of the war years searching for German submarines in the North Sea and the area between France and Great Britain. One record of his bombing activity is in the sources and in the aviationart-gallery below. He flew in a B24 Liberator VI which was specially designed for submarine search as it had searchlights below the aircraft.

See http://www.aviationart-gallery.com/my-product/pumy-odhozeny-trojka-... See https://www.nm.cz/en/we-prepared/exhibitions/the-knights-of-the-heaven This link is about an exhibition at the National Museum in Prague on the 2000+ airmen who fought against facist forces in WWII including Leo Turnovsky.

His medals from WWII were the War Medal 1939 - 1945, the Atlantic Star and the 1939 - 1945 Star. See also www.fcafa.com for more information about the Czech RAF airmen. He returned to Czechoslovakia in 1945 to find no relatives alive. Lev married Bozena Markvartova on 14. December 1946 at Havličkův Brod, Czech Republic. They rented or leased house number 7 in Krátká Ves belonging to the Bauer family not far from Pohled where Lev had been living before leaving for the USA. There their 1st daughter was born.

Lev Turnovsky was a strong Czech nationalist and not in support of the communist ideals. He and his wife escaped into Austria on 4. March 1948. (s. Arolsen Files)

See https://collections.arolsen-archives.org/archive/80864179/?p=1&s=Le...

Lev became a naturalized British citizen on 16th August 1950 (Certificate of Naturalization No. BNA 14552 Home Office No T. 15630.

Lev moved to Jamaica in 1955 and worked as a Chemical Engineer first for Valenta and then for the Citrus Co. of Jamaica. There he was involved in the fermentation process of sisal juice, which was used for the production of cortizone by Glaxo. His wife and 2 younger children followed in 1957. Lev and his wife Bozena were both cremated and Lev's remains can be seen at Shooters Hill near Kingston, Jamaica.

100 years after his birth and 100 years after the creation of Czechoslovakia, a "Stolperstein" memorial stone was placed in front of the home in Pohled where he had lived. The following audio record of the event records the placing of the stone together with those of his parents and sister in 2018:

https://www.audiolibrix.com/cs/Podcast/Listen/40948/pribehy-z-vysoc...