COLCHESTER United are mourning the loss of one of the most prolific scorers in the club’s history.

Forward Arthur Turner, who scored an outstanding 100 goals in 164 appearances during his time at the U's, died on Monday at the age of 98.

Turner, who played for Colchester between 1946 and 1952, is one of only four players to score a century or more goals for the club.

The East London-born forward had an outstanding record during his time with the U’s, with 74 goals in 94 starts in the Southern League.

After joining Colchester on a permanent basis in the autumn of 1946, he went on to help them finish as Southern League runners-up in the 1949/50 season.

In total, he hit five hat-tricks (and three quads) for the U’s but he did have a spell on the sidelines when he underwent a cartilage operation at the start of the 1949-50 campaign, an injury that allowed another of Colchester’s greats, Vic Keeble, to establish himself for the club.

Turner recovered though and featured in much of the club’s inaugural Football League season and netted the club’s first-ever league goal, in the game against Swindon in August 1950.

His electric form attracted the attention of the likes of Brentford and Southend United.

But manager Ted Fenton put a huge £9,000 transfer fee on Turner’s head, to ward off potential suitors.

By the 1951-52 season, Turner found himself out of first-team contention and was released by the U’s at the end of that campaign, joining Headington United.

Prior to joining the U’s, Turner had served in the RAF as an air-gunner in the Second World War.

He was on board a Wellington Bomber plane that was shot down in the Bay of Biscay, in 1943.

The sole survivor of the crash, he was rescued at sea.

During the war years, he played for Charlton Athletic as an amateur.

He played nine times in the Addicks' FA Cup campaign that saw the 1946 final against Derby County that year, becoming the first amateur to play in a Wembley cup final in over two decades.

He then moved onto Colchester, where he became one of the most prolific goalscorers in their history.