WAR MEMORIALS IN THE PARISH OF NORTHOP
The villages of Northop, Northop Hall and Sychdyn (Soughton)
The villages of Northop, Northop Hall and Sychdyn (Soughton)
Name Geoffrey Banks
Regiment Royal Navy HMS President 111
Service Rank and Number AB D/JX 289481
Military Cemetery/Memorial Plymouth Naval Memorial
Ref No. of Grave or Memorial Panel 64 column 2
Country of Cemetery/Memorial UK
Medals Awarded
Date and Circumstances of Death He died on 26th June 1942 aged 20yrs. Geoffrey was a DEMS gunner (Defensivey Equipped Merchant Ship) - a Royal Navy man protecting a Merchant Navy ship. The ship was the 'Putney Hill' and was en route from Cape Town to New York to pick up a cargo of military equipment from Russia. She was hit by a torpedo from a German U Boat (U -203) about 500 miles off San Juan, Peurto Rico. The captain ordered the crew to abandon ship. The lifeboat that Geoffrey Banks was in, itself capsized and after a struggle to hang onto an oar, Geoffrey slipped under the water and drowned. There is a very detailed account of the sinking of the 'Putney Hill' written by crew member Alan Shard and it is to be found on
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/annemariepurnell/putneyhill.html
Biographical Details Known
He was the son of Annie Banks and he lived at the bottom end of Northop Hall.
Regiment Royal Navy HMS President 111
Service Rank and Number AB D/JX 289481
Military Cemetery/Memorial Plymouth Naval Memorial
Ref No. of Grave or Memorial Panel 64 column 2
Country of Cemetery/Memorial UK
Medals Awarded
Date and Circumstances of Death He died on 26th June 1942 aged 20yrs. Geoffrey was a DEMS gunner (Defensivey Equipped Merchant Ship) - a Royal Navy man protecting a Merchant Navy ship. The ship was the 'Putney Hill' and was en route from Cape Town to New York to pick up a cargo of military equipment from Russia. She was hit by a torpedo from a German U Boat (U -203) about 500 miles off San Juan, Peurto Rico. The captain ordered the crew to abandon ship. The lifeboat that Geoffrey Banks was in, itself capsized and after a struggle to hang onto an oar, Geoffrey slipped under the water and drowned. There is a very detailed account of the sinking of the 'Putney Hill' written by crew member Alan Shard and it is to be found on
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/annemariepurnell/putneyhill.html
Biographical Details Known
He was the son of Annie Banks and he lived at the bottom end of Northop Hall.
