Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

In hope of a better life and with 5 children in tow, Johann and Dorothea Bennier left all that was familiar and quite likely beloved in their native land of Germany, to come to the other side of the world. Their final destination, South Australia, held yet to be experienced joys, successes, hardships and struggles as they established their new life and expanded their horizons and their family. Over the following generations the Bannears (spelling changed from Bennier), established themselves as hard working and successful business owners and it was into this family culture of industriousness that Ronald Kenneth Bannear was born.

On the 27th of September 1918 parents William Fredrich (grandson of Johann and Dorothea) and Margret Bannear welcomed their eighth child, Ronald Kenneth into the world. His older siblings Harry, Morris, Stanley, Ruby, and Thelma, all welcomed him with open arms. Sadly, Elsie (dec. 1907) and Doris (dec. 1917) never got to meet their wonderful brother.

Ronald Bannear spent the first part of his education at Saddleworth Public School from 1924-1931. After completing primary school, he then went to Riverton District High School from 1932-1933. He excelled in English Literature, Geography Drawing, Arithmetic, Maths Part i, Maths Part ii and Bookkeeping but was unable to grasp the concepts needed for shorthand. He also liked to spend his spare time playing sports such as tennis, football, and swimming.

Ronald worked with his father who, in the early 1900’s, purchased a lot of land and built a Corner Store on 20 Belvidere Road, Saddleworth that was a “greengrocers and merchandise store” (Saddleworth District Community Association, 2017). They had a tearoom on the east side of the store which attracted the custom of many farmers wives when they came into town.  They also carried furniture, timber, stones for road work and carted goods to and from Adelaide. Ronald’s father William was multiskilled and very talented as he was an electrician, tinsmith, plume petrol seller and a very successful business owner. Ronald was able to learn many of these valuable skills from him, setting him up to be as equally talented and successful as his father. They operated this store until 1926 when they sold their stock to Stan Crawford and set up a bicycle repair shop on another lot. This shop contained “bicycle and motor accessories and a billiard saloon at the back” (Bennier, 2011). His father also had a motor garage at the back of the greengrocer’s store that he used to own. He was a labourer and tinsmith by trade as he built houses and water tanks with his father as well.

Their family was highly involved in their community and known by all. This was demonstrated through the shops they built and the many community events they catered for, as well as the many sports events they attended (Bennier, 2011).

Less than a year after WW2 started Ronald was keen to join up and so in June of 1940, at the age of 21, he put in an application for the Royal Australian Air Force. With his application being successful Ronald was initially put into the R.A.A.F reserves, but on the 6th of January 1941 he was placed in the permanent R.A.A.F Forces and was appointed “to No. 4 Initial training School, Victor Harbor” (National Archives of Australia, 2024).

Ronald trained in many different locations such as Mount Brackan, Ballarat, Victor Harbor and Port Pirie, South Australia. Finally, ready to be posted Ronald embarked from Sydney on the 18th of September 1941 and arrived in England on the 4th of November 1941.

Following a brief time of training in Scotland Ronald was posted in York as part of the Reconnaissance Unit. This involved a crew of airmen flying over enemy countries and taking photos of their landscape, resources, and infrastructure. This enabled those in command of the armed forces to coordinate attacks based on the photo footage they obtained. To do these flights they used a Hudson air bomber because it was too slow to be used in combat.

Ronald was quite an adventurous person and enjoyed visiting new places. While he was on leave, he took in the scenery at many local sights including that of Ireland, Belfast, Dublin, Giants Causeway and Guinness Brewery. He usually travelled with his cobber which is an “Australian term for a pal” (Vocabulary.com, 2024) or brother, Jack Ramsey. Ronald and Jack shared a room together which allowed them to form a very close bond.

During Ronald’s service time he completed many courses such as an Annual Musketeer course on the 1st of August 1942 and passed with class “A”, No. 10 Wireless Air Gunner course on the 5th of February 1941 which he scored the highest in out of 92 participants. Through the course Ronald did, he was able to connect with other Air Force Servicemen. He also had the honour of being awarded the Air Gunner Badge on the 22nd of August and received the 1939/45-star Atlantic defence medal.

While in England he was with the 48th Squadron and on 22nd of the August 1941, Ronald was promoted to Sergeant.

In the many missions that he completed he was a Wireless Operator and an Air Gunner. On the 10th of August 1942 while conducting a patrol over Norway in a Lockheed Hudson FH427, Ronald and his crew were attacked by 5 enemy fighters. Unable to withstand such heavy enemy assault, Ronald’s plane succumbed, and it was presumed that it crashed off the coast of Norway. Ronald’s flight Sergeant, Captain Gordon Roy Watts’s body was washed ashore and retrieved by German soldiers. His identification was sent to the Red Cross, and he was buried on Virga Island off the south west coast of Norway. Sadly, none of the bodies of the other crew members including Ronald Kenneth Bannear were ever retrieved from this tragic event. Ronald was declared missing, presumed dead, on the 10th of August 1942.

Ronald was a very beloved and cherished family member of the Bannear family as evidenced by his sibling Ruby, Thelma and Stanley all naming their child Ronald in tribute to their brother who heroically died for King and Country.

Sergeant Ronald Kenneth Bannear is remembered at several locations in Australia and overseas:

-        Adelaide WW2 Wall of Remembrance

-        Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour

-        Riverton & District High School Roll of Honour WW2

-        Runnymede Air Force Memorial

-        Saddleworth Institute RAAF Plaque

-        Saddleworth War Memorial

-        The Australian War Memorial in Canberra

Biography written by Ashley Edwards from Burra Community School, attached as a document. Winning entry for 2024 Premier's Anzac Spirit School Prize.