Fred Everest Banbury

Fred Everest Banbury, (27 October 1893 – 1 April 1918) was a Canadian flying ace of the First World War, officially credited with eleven aerial victories while serving in the British Royal Naval Air Service.

Early life and education Banbury was born in Wolseley, Saskatchewan, the only son of Robert Samuel Banbury and Susannah Beatrice (née March). He was educated at schools in Wolseley and Regina before attending Victoria College in 1911–12 and University College in 1912–14. After graduating he attended Regina Normal School, and also worked as a teacher at Bredenbury, before becoming a law student at Regina. Banbury travelled to the United States to enrol at the Curtiss Flying School at Newport News, Virginia, in March 1916, qualifying with the highest marks ever gained at the school, and was awarded Aero Club of America pilot's license No. 507 on 5 June after soloing a Curtiss biplane. After additional training he was eventually posted to France in March 1917 to serve in No. 9 (Naval) Squadron based at St. Pol. Flying a Sopwith Pup single-seat fighter Banbury gained his first aerial victory on 31 May 1917, sharing in the driving down out of control of a German two-seater reconnaissance aircraft over Ostend. The following day he drove down a Halberstadt reconnaissance aircraft solo. His squadron were then re-equipped with the Sopwith Camel fighter, and in one of these Banbury shared in the driving down of another reconnaissance aircraft off Westende on 25 July. Banbury gained three more aerial victories in September, accounting for an Albatros reconnaissance aircraft and two Albatros D.V fighters. going on to gain three more victories over enemy aircraft that month. He was granted the acting rank of flight commander on 9 November, and gained his tenth victory on the 23rd.

Banbury returned to Canada on leave in December 1917, before returning to England in February 1918, and then to his unit in France in March. He gained his eleventh and final victory, sharing in the capture of a reconnaissance aircraft near Becelaere, on 26 March.

Banbury's award of the Distinguished Service Cross "in recognition of services at Dunkirk" was gazetted posthumously on 23 April 1918.

Banbury is buried in grave "III.E.5." in Hazebrouck Communal Cemetery, Nord, France. He is also memorialized in Regina, Canada.

List of aerial victories

+Combat record No.Date/TimeAircraft/Serial No.OpponentResultLocation Notes1 31 May 1917@ 1615 Sopwith Pup(N6188) C Out of control Ostend Shared with Flight Sub-Lieutenants A. Shearer & Harold Stackard.2 1 June 1917@ 0915 Sopwith Pup(N6188) Halberstadt C Out of control Westende—Gistel 3 25 July 1917@ 1730 Sopwith Camel(B3820) C Out of control Off Westende Shared with Flight Sub-Lieutenants John Pinder, Oliver Redgate, Harold Mott, & Snell.4 5 September 1917@ 0800 Sopwith Camel(B3832) Albatros C Out of control Middelkerke—Nieuport Shared with Flight Commander Stearne Edwards, and Flight Sub-Lieutenants Roy Brown, Oliver Redgate, & Arthur Wood.5 13 September 1917@ 1430 Sopwith Camel(B3832) Albatros D.V Out of control East of Leke Shared with Flight Commander Stearne Edwards and Flight Sub-Lieutenants John Hales, Oakley, & Ingleson.6 28 September 1917@ 1610 Sopwith Camel(B6230) Albatros D.V Destroyed Diksmuide Shared with Flight Sub-Lieutenants Oliver Redgate, John Hales, Merrill Taylor, & Cedric Edwards.7 2 October 1917@ 1450 Sopwith Camel(B6230) C Out of control Ostend—Slype Shared with Flight Sub-Lieutenant Oliver Redgate.8 27 October 1917@ 1040 Sopwith Camel(B6230) Albatros D.V Out of control Slype Shared with Flight Commanders Stearne Edwards & Harold Stackard, and Flight Sub-Lieutenants Francis Mellersh, John Hales, John Paynter, C. A. Narbeth, Arthur Wood, & Merrill Taylor.9 28 October 1917@ 1230 Sopwith Camel(B6230) Albatros D.V Destroyed Schoore 10 23 November 1917@ 1220 Sopwith Camel(B6230) Albatros D.V Out of control South of Diksmuide Shared with Flight Sub-Lieutenant John Hales.11 26 March 1918@ 0725 Sopwith Camel(B7247) C Captured South of Becelaere Shared with Flight Sub-Lieutenants Oliver Redgate, Merrill Taylor, & Squire.

Endnotes