Constance Mary Turnbull (9 February 1927 – 5 September 2008) was a British historian known for her work on Southeast Asian history, in particular on the history of Singapore. Her expertise on Singapore history and citations from her bookThe Straits Settlements was instrumental to the case presented by the Singapore legal team to theInternational Court of Justice, in claiming sovereignty overPedra Branca in 2008.^[1]

Constance Mary Turnbull
Born	Constance Mary Turnbull (1927-02-09)9 February 1927 West Lyham, nearWooler,Northumberland,England
Died	5 September 2008(2008-09-05) (aged 81) Oxford, England
Occupation	Historian, author
Education	Stoke Park Grammar School,Coventry
Alma mater	Bedford College,University of London
Period	1971–2008
Subject	Singaporean history
Notable works	The Straits Settlements 1826–67: Indian presidency to crown colony (1972) A History of Singapore (1977) Dateline Singapore: 150 Years Of The Straits Times (1995)
Spouse	Leonard Adrian Rayner ​ ​ (m. 1962; died 1995)​
Children	2

Mary Turnbull was born the only child to David Turnbull (1900-1961), a native farm-owner in theCheviot Hills, and Edna Mary Williamson (1901-1991), a schoolteacher fromLaxey in theIsle of Man, on a farm not far fromWooler,Northumberland.^[2] In the 1920sCoventry grew to be the centre of UK motor industry, and her family moved to the thriving city when her father, who had been forced give up farming as a result of theGreat Depression, found a job in motorcar engineering at theRootes car factory. Throughout her childhood, Mary Turnbull led a happy but simple life despite having to live with different relatives during theGreat Depression, while her parents were both looking for work inCoventry and being evacuated several times duringWorld War II.^[3] She often described the experience of living through theCoventry Blitz and later, as a university student, the "doodlebugs" (V-1 flying bombs) in London.

Mary Turnbull went to study atBedford College, London in 1944 and graduated in 1947.^[2]

After graduation from Bedford College, Mary Turnbull worked forImperial Chemical Industries in the staff training department.^[2] Looking for a more adventurous life, she joined theMalayan Civil Service, the first female administrative officer to be recruited to the Service, and one of only two women who would ever work in that capacity for the colonial authorities.^[4] She later joined theUniversity of Malaya inKuala Lumpur, but on her marriage to businessman Leonard Rayner in 1962, moved toSingapore. Here she was a member of the History Department until 1971 when she moved toHong Kong to take up a post as lecturer atHong Kong University's History Department.^[4] It was during her time inHong Kong that Mary Turnbull first published her bookHistory of Singapore.^{[citation needed]}

In 1988, Mary Turnbull retired from her position as Head of the History Department at Hong Kong University, although she remained in Hong Kong until her husband, Leonard, also retired in 1990. The couple moved back to the UK and settled in the village ofSulgrave, Northamptonshire. Mary Turnbull continued to write, and travel around Britain, Europe, the United States, Australia and New Zealand and on occasions, visited Singapore and Malaysia. In the 1990s she was commissioned byThe Straits Times to compile the history of the Singapore newspaper company and in 1995,Dateline Singapore: 150 Years Of The Straits Times that resulted from nearly 3 years' of work, was launched to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the newspaper title.^[1]

Following the death of her husband in 1995, Mary Turnbull moved toOxford in 1999,^[2] where she became a fellow ofSt Antony's College and a member ofOxford University's Strategic Studies Group (OUSSG).^{[citation needed]} On the afternoon of 5 September 2008, she was diagnosed with a serious heart condition during a routine check-up and died hours later of a rupturedaorta while awaiting surgery.^{[citation needed]} She had completed the final revisions for the third edition ofA History of Singapore, just days before her death.^[1]

Mary Turnbull was posthumously inducted to theSingapore Women's Hall of Fame in 2014.^[5]

• Mills, L. A. (1961)British Malaya, 1824-67. Singapore: Malayan Branch Royal Asiatic Society.
• Turnbull, C. M. (1969)Modern Singapore a commemorative for Singapore's 150th anniversary
• Turnbull, C. M. (1972)The Straits Settlements, 1826 - 67: Indian Presidency to Crown Colony. London: Athlone Press.
• Turnbull, C. M. (1977)A History of Singapore, 1819 - 1975. Singapore: Oxford University Press.
• Turnbull, C. M. (1989)A History of Singapore, 1819 - 1988. Singapore: Oxford University Press.
• Turnbull, C. M. (1980, 1981, 1989)A History of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
• Turnbull, C. M. (1995)Dateline Singapore: 150 years of the Straits Times. Singapore: Times Editions
• Turnbull, C. M. (2009)A History of Modern Singapore 1819 - 2005 (published posthumously). Singapore: NUS Press.