He married Adelena Esther Frances "Lena" Mathews (1884-) on 10 August 1904.
He was divorced from her, and granted custody of their one-year-old child, on the grounds of her "infidelity" (at the time of the hearing his occupation was given as "nightwatchman"); Turnbull's older brother, Sydney Alexander Duncan Turnbull (1880-) — the father of Lena'a second child, Gladys Victoria Alice Turnbull, born in 1907 — was cited as the correspondent (and had costs awarded against him).
[7] He successfully requested a transfer to Prahran in 1910,[8] and was a regular team member for the 1910 season.
Recruited directly from Brighton in mid-season, he played seven senior matches for St Kilda in 1915, making his debut, aged 31, kicking one goal, in St Kilda's 12.17 (89) to 8.7 (55) victory over Geelong in round 11, at the Junction Oval, on 3 July 1915.
[14] He coached the (then) Old Caulfield Grammarians to a premiership win in B Grade of the (then) Metropolitan Amateur Football Association in 1925.