At the north eastern end of Kildwick churchyard stands the memorial to William Turner who died in 1856 at the age of 86.

His name was once well-known throughout the district and lingered on into the 1960s in the folk memory of older locals.

He was born in Glusburn, the son of a weaver, in 1770 and was baptised in Kildwick Church on July 19, 1772.

He probably followed in his father's footsteps and became a weaver, but young William longed for a more exciting and adventurous life.

His opportunity came when Britain's greatest trading company, the East India Company, put out word that they were seeking volunteers to join their private army in India.

A newspaper advertisement in 1788 set out the terms. They wanted men from 16 to 30 years of age, and each man would receive half a guinea, clothing, bed and bedding and one shilling and eight pence a day.

They must serve five years and at the end of that period were at liberty to return to England if they wished.

William seized the opportunity, set off to London and signed up at their recruiting office in Fleet Street.

He was posted to the Bengal Artillery and before he could entertain a change of mind was on board ship and away on the long voyage to the Company headquarters in Calcutta.

It is assumed that he joined up about 1790, as after this date the British Government stopped the East India Company recruiting in England as they needed all volunteers to fight in the war against France.

His name came to fame when his regiment moved to Ganjam on the Malabar Coast in north east India.

On the day they arrived two of his comrades, named Bateman and Murray, had wandered off into the nearby hills and seen a large black bear and so the next day they set off, together with William, and their muskets to hunt it down.

Whilst searching for the bear they disturbed a large Bengal tiger which immediately advanced upon them.

Bateman and Murray made their escape but unfortunately Turner was immediately in its path.

He got a shot at it, managed to reload and hit it with a second shot, by which time the tiger was upon him.

Armed only with an empty musket and bayonet he thrust the blade into the animals chest upon which it became detached from the gun.

He then used the gun as a club but the tiger was now on top of him and sank its teeth into his shoulder while at the same time he gouged frantically at its wounds with his hands.

Miraculously the tiger then retreated leaving Turner exhausted and covered in blood. Fortunately his comrades then returned and finding him still alive carried him back to camp.

Altogether he is said to have had 30 three wounds inflicted upon him.

His prowess in fending off a Bengal tiger earned him the name Tiger Turner and the story of the fight soon spread and a report of the incident was later published in the Gentleman's Magazine in London.

It appears that Tiger Turner served two five-year periods with the Company and in 1799 he found himself in action against another 'tiger', Tipu Sultan, known as the Tiger of Mysore.

As an artillery man he and his regiment played an important role in bringing down the walls of Seringapatam, Tipu's capital, and in his defeat.

Following the fall of the city the Sultan's treasury was divided between the Company soldiers and now at the end of his term of service Tiger Turner left India and returned home.

With his bounty and savings Tiger Turner settled in Kildwick and opened a grocer's shop.

He married in 1802 and raised a large family but his fame never left him, and as late as 1837 an account of his tangle with the Bengal tiger was published in Tyler's Natural History of beasts, Birds and Fishes.