Fred Everest Banbury, (27 October 1893 – 1 April 1918) was a Canadian

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, officially credited with eleven aerial victories while serving in the British

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

Early life and education

Banbury was born in

Wolseley, Saskatchewan Wolseley (Canada 2011 Census population 864) is a town in southeast Saskatchewan, Canada, approximately 100 km east of Regina, Saskatchewan, Regina on the Trans-Canada Highway. History Wolseley's Provincial Court House building was constru ...

, 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 a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

in 1912–14. After graduating he attended

Regina Normal School The Canada Saskatchewan Production Studios are located in Regina, Saskatchewan at the corner of College Avenue and Broad Street. Built in 1913, the structure has served as a normal school, military training facility, and fine arts building for t ...

, and also worked as a teacher at

Bredenbury Bredenbury is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England. It is located 12.5 miles (20 km) northeast of Hereford. The village lies on the A44 road, 3 miles (5 km) from Bromyard and 8 miles (13 km) from L ...

, before becoming a law student at Regina. Banbury travelled to the United States to enrol at the

Curtiss Flying School A Curtiss Jenny on a training flight Curtiss Flying School at North Beach California in 1911 The Curtiss Flying School was started by Glenn Curtiss to compete against the Wright Flying School of the Wright brothers. The first example was locate ...

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

, 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.

Military service

Banbury then travelled to England to join the

, being commissioned as a temporary flight

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

on probation on 28 June 1916. 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 The Sopwith Pup is a British single-seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characteristi ...

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 Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

. The following day he drove down a

Halberstadt Halberstadt ( Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the capital of Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town center that was greatly destroyed by Allied bombi ...

reconnaissance aircraft solo. His squadron were then re-equipped with the

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...

fighter, and in one of these Banbury shared in the driving down of another reconnaissance aircraft off

Westende Westende is a town in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It lies on the Belgian coast, also called the Flemish coast. It used to be the far west (West-ende: Dutch for west-end) of the islan ...

on 25 July. Banbury gained three more aerial victories in September, accounting for an Albatros reconnaissance aircraft and two

Albatros D.V The Albatros D.V is a fighter aircraft built by the Albatros Flugzeugwerke and used by the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during World War I. The D.V was the final development of the Albatros D.I family and the last Albatro ...

fighters. On 1 October 1917 he was promoted to flight lieutenant, 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.Shores, et al, p. 61. 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. On 1 April 1918 the Royal Naval Air Service was merged with the Army's

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

to form the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

, and Flight Commander Banbury of No. 9 (Naval) Squadron became Captain Banbury of

No. 209 Squadron RAF Number 209 Squadron of the British Royal Air Force was originally formed from a nucleus of "Naval Eight" on 1 February 1917 at Saint-Pol-sur-Mer, France, as No. 9 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS)Rawlings 1978, p. 324. and saw active servic ...

. However, the same day Banbury took off in Camel "B7247" on a practice flight, but suffered a fatal

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in flight and crashed. Banbury's award of the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

"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 Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

, France. He is also memorialized in Regina, Canada.Findagrave website https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=banbury&GSfn=fred&GSmn=everest&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=104797112&df=all& Retrieved 30 October 2017.

List of aerial victories

Endnotes

References

* Shore, Christopher, et al. (1990). ''Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces, 1915–1920''. Fortress Publications. {{DEFAULTSORT:Banbury, Fred Everest 1893 births 1918 deaths People from Wolseley, Saskatchewan University of Toronto alumni Royal Naval Air Service personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Canadian World War I flying aces British military personnel killed in World War I Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in France Canadian recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)