Arthur Banks
Encyclopedia
Sergeant Arthur Banks GC
(6 October 1923 – 20 December 1944) was a member of the Royal Air Force
during the Second World War who was tortured and killed after being captured behind enemy lines.
Banks was born in Llanddulas
(a village near Abergele
in North Wales
). His father, Captain Charles Banks, was a distinguished pilot in the First World War who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
for his wartime service. Banks attended St Edward's School, Oxford
until 1941. He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
in 1942 and become a member of 112 Squadron, Desert Air Force
. On 29 August 1944, three weeks into his active service with 112 Squadron, he was shot down over Northern Italy whilst undertaking an armed reconnaissance operation in a Mustang
. He tried to reach the Allied lines and made contact with a partisans group (the Boccato group). During the following months he "became an outstanding figure, advising and encouraging them in action against the enemy". In December 1944, an attempt to cross to Allied territory was planned to enable resupplying of the partisans to take place, but the group he was with was betrayed and captured by German forces. He was tortured by German authorities and then by the Italian Militia over a period of several days, but Banks remained silent. He was then stripped, doused in petrol and set alight before being thrown, weighted down, into the River Po. He managed to survive this and swam to the river bank, where he was recaptured by the Brigate Nere (Italian Fascists) and shot in the head. Initially buried in a communal dung-heap by his captors, Banks is now buried at the Argenta Gap War Cemetery
. There is also a commemoration stone for Banks at the War Memorial in Llanddulas.
He was awarded the George Cross
posthumously for his "courage and endurance", with his conduct being described as "at all times, in keeping with the highest traditions of the Service, even in the face of most brutal and inhuman treatment.". Notice of the award was published in the London Gazette
on 5 November 1946. The Cross was presented to his father by King George VI
.
His captors were tried by a War Crimes Tribunal and were imprisoned for between 4.5 and 20 years; the one who directed his torture was shot after being captured by Italians. The man who murdered Arthur Banks was LT
Turati. Turati had been a member of the infamous Brigate Nere. Postwar, Ian Bell, Nazi hunter
, captured Turati at his home in Italy.
George Cross
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
(6 October 1923 – 20 December 1944) was a member of the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
during the Second World War who was tortured and killed after being captured behind enemy lines.
Banks was born in Llanddulas
Llanddulas
Llanddulas is a village in Conwy county borough, North Wales midway between Old Colwyn and Abergele and next to the North Wales Expressway.The village lies beneath the limestone hill of Cefn-yr-Ogof...
(a village near Abergele
Abergele
Abergele is a community and old Roman trading town, situated on the north coast of Wales between the holiday resorts of Colwyn Bay and Rhyl, in Conwy County Borough. Its northern suburb of Pensarn lies on the Irish Sea coast and is known for its beach, where it is claimed by some that a ghost ship...
in North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
). His father, Captain Charles Banks, was a distinguished pilot in the First World War who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
for his wartime service. Banks attended St Edward's School, Oxford
St Edward's School (Oxford)
St. Edward's School is a co-educational independent boarding school located in Oxford, England. The school is located on the Woodstock Road in the north of the city close to the suburb of Summertown. In 2007 it was voted by the Country Life Magazine as number one in the top ten schools in the UK...
until 1941. He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve consists of a number of groupings of individual military reservists for the management and operation of the Royal Air Force's Air Training Corps and CCF Air Cadet formations, Volunteer Gliding Squadrons , Air Experience Flights, and also to form the...
in 1942 and become a member of 112 Squadron, Desert Air Force
Desert Air Force
The Desert Air Force , also known chronologically as Air Headquarters Western Desert, Air Headquarters Libya, AHQ Western Desert, the Western Desert Air Force, Desert Air Force, and the First Tactical Air Force , was an Allied tactical air force initially created from No...
. On 29 August 1944, three weeks into his active service with 112 Squadron, he was shot down over Northern Italy whilst undertaking an armed reconnaissance operation in a Mustang
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
. He tried to reach the Allied lines and made contact with a partisans group (the Boccato group). During the following months he "became an outstanding figure, advising and encouraging them in action against the enemy". In December 1944, an attempt to cross to Allied territory was planned to enable resupplying of the partisans to take place, but the group he was with was betrayed and captured by German forces. He was tortured by German authorities and then by the Italian Militia over a period of several days, but Banks remained silent. He was then stripped, doused in petrol and set alight before being thrown, weighted down, into the River Po. He managed to survive this and swam to the river bank, where he was recaptured by the Brigate Nere (Italian Fascists) and shot in the head. Initially buried in a communal dung-heap by his captors, Banks is now buried at the Argenta Gap War Cemetery
Battle of the Argenta Gap
The Battle of the Argenta Gap was an engagement which formed part of the Allied spring 1945 offensive during the Italian Campaign of the Second World War...
. There is also a commemoration stone for Banks at the War Memorial in Llanddulas.
He was awarded the George Cross
George Cross
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
posthumously for his "courage and endurance", with his conduct being described as "at all times, in keeping with the highest traditions of the Service, even in the face of most brutal and inhuman treatment.". Notice of the award was published in the London Gazette
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
on 5 November 1946. The Cross was presented to his father by King George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
.
His captors were tried by a War Crimes Tribunal and were imprisoned for between 4.5 and 20 years; the one who directed his torture was shot after being captured by Italians. The man who murdered Arthur Banks was LT
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Turati. Turati had been a member of the infamous Brigate Nere. Postwar, Ian Bell, Nazi hunter
Nazi hunter
A Nazi-hunter is a private individual who tracks down and gathers information on alleged former Nazis, SS members and Nazi collaborators involved in the Holocaust, typically for use at trial on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity...
, captured Turati at his home in Italy.