William Taylor Banner
1929 - motor driver
1939 - omnibus driver and ARP ambulance driver
- Family History
- Military history
- Extra information
- Photographs
William Taylor was the son of Thomas and Ruth Elizabeth Banner (née Taylor).
Thomas and Ruth Elizabeth, both born in Tipton, Staffordshire, were married in 1894 (reg. JFM West Bromwich) and had six children, one of whom died infancy: Thomas James b. 1895 (OND reg. Martley) d. 1896 (JFM, Martley); Gladys May b. 1897 (AMJ, West Bromwich); Cissy Maud b. 1899 (OND, Martley) bap. November 1899 Leigh with Bransford; Ernest Albert Reginald b. 1900 bap. November 1900 Leigh with Bransford Worcs.; William Taylor birth reg. 1908 (JFM West Bromwich) and Mary Frances Elizabeth birth reg. 1911 (JFM Dudley).
At the time of the 1901 Census, Thomas, a fruiterer (own account), and Ruth were living in Leigh, Worcestershire, with their three surviving children, Gladys (3), Cissy (1) and Ernest (6m).
Ruth (37) was recorded on the 1911 Census at 31 Burnt Tree, Tipton, Staffordshire; she was listed as head of household . Also in the home were her five children, Gladys, Cissy, Ernest, William (3) and Mary (1m). Thomas Banner (35), a paraffin oil salesman, was registered on the census in Dingle Lancashire, a boarder in the household of a married couple.
By 1921 Thomas, a gardener, and Ruth were living at 19 Victoria Street, Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, with their five children: Gladys a shop assistant (grocer), Cissy and Ernest 'at home', and William and Mary who were school age.
Gladys married Charles E Mason later that year (JAS); she died in 1988 (reg. June, Derby). Her sister Cissy married Arthur Stacey at Sutton in Ashfield St Mary Magdalene in September 1926. The marriage certificate gave her father Thomas's occupation as ostler. Cissy Stacey also died in 1988 (reg. Dec., Leicestershire).
William Taylor married Alice Martha Caunt (b. 1907) at Skegby St Andrew on 4 May 1929; they probably had one child, Kenneth W., in 1933. The marriage certificate gave his occupation as motor driver and his father's as ostler. When the England & Wales Register was compiled in 1939, William, an omnibus driver and ARP ambulance driver, and Alice were living at 29 Newlands Estate, Forest Town, Mansfield Woodhouse. The record of one other member of the household remains closed.
Thomas Banner died in November 1929 and was buried in Sutton Cemetery, Sutton in Ashfield. In 1939 his widow Ruth was living at 8 Bonser Gardens, Sutton in Ashfield, with her son Ernest, a colliery fireman (above ground), and daughter Mary, an ambulance attendant ('paid'). Ruth died in 1948 and was buried at Sutton in Ashfield on 3 November.
Neither Ernest nor Mary married. Ernest was still living at 8 Bonser Gardens at the time of his death in July 1881. Mary died in December 2005 and was buried in Sutton Cemetery.
William Taylor Banner was an air gunner on a Fortress III HB 796, an American B-17 transferred to the RAF (see 'Extra Information'). The aircraft usually carried twelve 400-pound S.C.I. bombs or sixteen 250-pound depth charges, had the cheek-mounted machine guns removed and radar fitted in place of the ball turret.
214 Squadron was based at RAF Oulton, Norfolk. 214 Squadron's ORB, February 1945, Record of Events (TNA AIR-27-1324-4): 'This aircraft (HB 796) was detailed to carry out a 'Window' patrol but nothing has been seen or heard of it and it failed to return.'
Subsequently, it has emerged that HB 796 took off from RAF Oulton in Norfolk at 03:29 hrs tasked with dispensing 'Window' west of the Ruhr in support of an operation to Kefled. It probably became involved in an air battle and at 04:30 hrs was seen to be flying very low over New Romney and Lydd.
Witnesses stated that they heard the aircraft diving towards the sea and then heard a muffled thud. A Coastguard watcher at Denge Marsh was of the opinion that the aircraft attempted to land on the foreshore, bounced up and crashed into the sea. Debris was found on the shore above the high water mark which seemed to confirm that. The body of the pilot, James Peter Robertson, was washed ashore at Dungeness. (findagrave.com)
There were no survivors of the crash. William was buried in Sutton-in-Ashfield Cemetery, Nottinghamshire, on 15 February. (grave ref. Sec. C. Grave 1028).
The other members of the crew were:
42287 W.O. Lionel John Bennett RNZAF. Runnymede Memorial (Panel 285)
1337316 Flt. Sgt. Peter George Buckland RAFVR. Runnymede Memorial (Panel 270)
1118147 Sgt. William Bunyan RAFVR. Bolton (Astley Bridge) Cemetery
1816917 Sgt. Robert James Carrott RAFVR. Runnymede Memorial (Panel 274)
1590215 Sgt. Ernest Dobson RAFVR. Bradford Crematorium (Panel 1)
442340 Flt. Sgt. George Swan Murray Fowler RAAF. Runnymede Memorial (Panel 284)
427313 Flt. Sgt. Frederick Rossini Olds RNZAF. Runnymede Memorial (Panel 285)
422318 P.O. James Peter Robertson RNZAF. Brookwood Military Cemetery (2.AA.6)
350447 Sgt. Thomas Wilfred Henry Usher RAFVR. Runnymede Memorial (Panel 277)
See record on this Roll of Honour: Sgt Thomas Wilfred Henry Usher RAFVR.
CWGC Additional information: Son of Thomas and Ruth Elizabeth Banner, of Sutton-in-Ashfield; husband of Martha Alice Banner.
CWGC headstone, personal inscription: Treasured memories of a dear son, Daddie and brother. Always remembered
Eighty-five USAAF B-17Gs were transferred to the Royal Air Force as the Fortress III. The first 30 of these planes were built by Boeing, and the remainder, including HB 796 in which William Taylor Banner was killed, were built by Lockheed-Vega.
In January 1944, the squadron was taken off routine bombing operations and converted to special operations, joining No. 100 Group RAF for electronic countermeasures in support of the main bombing operations. The squadron used the Boeing Fortress Mk II and Mk III and Stirlings.
They used the jamming system codenamed 'Airborne Cigar' (ABC) to block German night fighter communications. German speaking radio operators would identify and jam the ground controllers broadcasts and also pose as ground controllers themselves with the intention of steering the night fighters away from the bomber streams.
At least some of 214 Squadron's B-17s were equipped with 'Piperack' which countered the Germans' Lichtenstein SN-2 aerial intercept radar. Fortress IIIs also took part in mass night attacks, being employed as decoys to confuse enemy night fighters and to drop 'window'. 'Window' was first deployed by the RAF in 1943 and involved dropping thousands of aluminium strips to confuse and jam enemy radar.
Additional information, record updated (RF, Oct. 2026)
No photos