Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2011 | Page 65

ON THE WATER

Bernard: Commodore
to Widow Twankey!
By Peter White
Bernard Turner holds the unique
distinction of being the only person
to be Commodore of the Royal
Solent Yacht Club on more than one
occasion.
But his list of achievements does
not end there. Bernard is a man of
many parts and not just because every
Christmas he dresses up to take on
the role of Widow Twankey, an Ugly
Sister or the like, in a pantomime
production at Yarmouth.
He is also a key player in the smooth
running of the town’s RNLI, and even
finds time to join some of his friends
and associates in a male singing group
which performs to raise funds for
charity. Not bad for a 67-year-old who
for the past 15 years has also had to

overcome the inevitable difficulties
associated with a kidney transplant.
The list of activities – past and
present – simply goes on for Bernard
who was born in Derby, the eighth
of nine children, and has lived here
for 51 years. As a result he often
tells those younger than him who
refer to him as an ‘Overner’, that in
all honesty he has proba