Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

RAAF Flight Sergeant Ivan William Banks 405803, known to his family as Billy was the 20 year old adopted son of Alice Banks (1878-1958) then living at Toowomba, Queensland. Born at Perth, Western Australia, on 21st October 1922, he had been adopted by his grandmother and before enlisting in the RAAF they were living with his birth mother Myrtle Williamson, at Toowomba.

Billy was employed for two years as a clerk with the Harrison Printing Company of Toowomba. His record shows membership of the Army cadets for two years.
He appears to have had a girl-friend in Sydney as he named Miss H Gilbert of 67 Avenue Road, Mossman, as one of those to be contacted in the event of his death.
Enlisting at Brisbane on June 20th 1941 he was trained as an air-crew pilot, and after completing his courses on 2nd April 1942, was soon posted to the UK.
Embarking at Sydney on 16th May 1942, Billy arrived in the UK on August 15th.
More pilot's training followed with the No.11 Pilots Advanced Flying Unit, based at RAF Shawbury, in Shropshire, before being posted for air-crew training with 81 Operational Training Unit at Whitchurch Heath, also in Shropshire, on 19th November.

His final period of training was with his newly formed crew at 1656 Heavy Conversion Unit based at RAF Lindolme near Doncaster, Yorkshire, from 20th March till his posting to 101 Squadron on 28th of April 1943.

His first overseas mission with 101 Squadron was as 2nd pilot in Lancaster W4888 on 30th April. Its experienced captain was Flying Officer Nicholas Stanford. Billy's first 101 Squadron operation with his own crew was a trip to Dortmund on May 4th. During the following 7 weeks they returned to bomb enemy territory on eight occasions. Flying Lancaster ED373 of 101 Squadron, they took off from RAF Ludford Magna on the night of 25th June 1943 detailed to bomb Gelsenkirchen, Germany. It was the crew's tenth overseas operation together. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take off and it failed to return to base. The crew consisted of the following:

RAAF Flt/Sgt I W Banks, Captain (Pilot)
RAF Sgt N S Mould, (Flight Engineer)
RAF Sgt H J Toze, (Navigator)
RAF Sgt T G Brook, (Air Bomber)
RAF Sgt J H W Snowdon, (Wireless Operator)
RAF Sgt G V Branson, (Mid Upper Gunner)
RAF Sgt R Pugh, (Rear Gunner)

At 02.51 on the morning of the 26th June1943 their aircraft, Lancaster ED373, was shot down and crashed into the sea off the Dutch coast close to shore near Zandvoort. With one engine out of action, it had been coned by searchlights, and then attacked and set on fire by a nightfighter piloted by Ofw. Karl-Heinz Scherfling.Only the bomb aimer, Sgt.T. G. Brook survived as he was the first to leave the aircraft and was subsequently carried towards the shore by the wind.
Six bodies, one unidentifiable (believed to be Ronnie Pugh), were washed up on the beach at Zaandvoort. They are now buried in the New Eastern Cemetery Amsterdam. The aircraft lies some distance offshore buried in an area of shifting sandbanks.