Born on the 1st February 1977 to James William Joseph Turner and Rosemary Morris on the Isle of Sheppey, situated off the north coast of Kent.

Passed entrance exam to secure one of only thirty places to gain entry into the UK’s only grammar school for the deaf aged 10 in Newbury, Berkshire.

Magnificent and eloquent the school may have been, with vasts tracts of grounds and state of the art equipment but its failure to provide staff who lacked compassion and empathy meant after five short weeks, Carl’s parents decided to withdraw him from the school – a fine education was no substitute for the wellbeing of their son..

Master against pupil, Carl ‘Houdini’ Morris emerged as the youngest ever world pool champion against the undisputed king of pool, Keith Brewer.

Trailing 0-3, ‘Houdini’ lived up to his nickname in producing a comeback, winning 11 out of 13 frames to emerge a victorious 11-5 winner and take the title of the youngest ever world pool champion, a record held to this day. ‘Houdini’ would retain the world #1 ranking for the next three years.

Had ‘Houdini’ fallen asleep, there would have been no escaping death.

Situated in his guest lodge in the adventure state of Clarens, South Africa during the winter months, Carl lit the wood-burner for warmth. Little did Carl know that the lodge had recently undergone a refurbishment and the asbestos protecting the thatch roof had not been replaced, resulting in the heat setting the thatch on fire. With seconds, the lodge was engulfed but ‘Houdini’ escaped through the window.

£84,230.72 was raised as a thank you to the charity as a recipient of a hearing dog himself.

Although fiercely independent, Carl recognises that sometimes we all need help. As a frequent traveller, Carl depended on his hearing dogs for alerts ranging from fire and smoke alarms to door knocks and waking him up in the morning. The funds were raised through a series of exhibitions events held in the UK’s biggest shopping centres throughout the UK.

Following a tumultuous four years with the death of his parents and the birth of his daughter, Carl retired from pool to focus on being a father.

‘Houdini’ made the decision to focus solely on bringing up his daughter – and eventually his son along with his property business.

There is absolutely no doubt that without this charity, Carl believes he would not have been in the fortunate position he finds himself in today.

With no knowledge of how to raise a deaf child, Carl’s parents turned to the National Deaf Children’s Society for help and advice and if was through this that they were able to create the environment in which Carl was given the opportunity to flourish. £132,073.56 was raised and donated as the latest instalment. The charity will always have a lifelong support in ‘Houdini’.