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Sergeant Keith Demer Banwell
Unit : No.4 Platoon, "A" Company, 10th Parachute Battalion
Army No. : 5498293
Born on the 8th October 1917, "Tex" Banwell enlisted in the Hampshire Regiment in August 1936. He was posted to the 2nd Battalion in Palestine in March 1937, before joining the 1st Battalion in India in March 1938, where he saw action on the North West Frontier. He accompanied the Battalion to Palestine in October 1938, and then to Egypt as a Lance-Corporal from July to November of the following year, shortly after which he was promoted to Corporal and returned to Palestine where he remained until May 1942. Banwell transferred to the Army Air Corps in January 1943, and was subsequently posted to the 10th Parachute Battalion. He was promoted to Sergeant in August 1943, and during the following month commanded No.3 Section, No.3 Platoon, "A" Company in Italy.
By the time of Operation Market Garden, Banwell was a member of No.4 Platoon. On Tuesday 19th September 1944, when the 4th Parachute Brigade attempted to overcome the defensive line on the Dreijenseweg and the 10th Battalion's advance stalled near the pumping station, "A" Company, now commanded by Captain Queripel, who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for a later action, was ordered to carry out a flanking attack. Sergeant Banwell and two men went ahead as a scouting party and came very close to being discovered by a German patrol, but returned to report that there were five tanks, two supply trucks, and two fuel tankers in a compound beyond the pumping station. The attack went in but could make no headway.
On Wednesday 20th September, when the 4th Parachute Brigade was attempting to cross the railway line to enter the Oosterbeek Perimeter, the 10th Battalion were in the lead, but Banwell became separated from them yet managed to make his own way to the Hartenstein Hotel with Corporal Bill Cuttill and Private Ginger Whadcoat.
On Sunday 24th September, Banwell and Company Sergeant Major Lashmore of Support Company, were searching the woods inside the Perimeter for food. A German machine-gun opened fire at them and a bullet hit Banwell's right hand, severing the tips of his index and middle fingers. Both men managed to find cover, and Banwell did what he could to bandage his hand while they waited for darkness to fall, whereupon they returned to Divisional Headquarters.
On the following day, Banwell and Lashmore were informed by Major Hugh Maguire (GSO2 Intelligence, Divisional Headquarters) that the Division would withdraw across the Rhine during the night. When the moment of departure came, the pair decided to find their own way to the embarkation area, and though they could hear the engines of motor boats moving back and forth, they were unable to find it. They stripped and attempted to swim across, but soon realised that the current was too strong and would likely drown them, so they resolved to remain on the northern bank. At dawn they discovered that they were in the area of the Driel-Heveadorp Ferry, and Banwell decided that they should return to the Hartenstein Hotel in the hope of finding weapons and food in supply containers, and then attempt to contact the Resistance. They discovered a container with food in a tree, which Banwell climbed to cut it down but it fell to the ground with a loud crash. Having not eaten anything for several days both men immediately fell on the container, but the noise had attracted the attention of some nearby Germans and they were taken prisoner.
A German doctor examined and treated the injuries to Banwell's fingers that same afternoon, and on the following day he and a large group of airborne prisoners were marched to a warehouse at Stroe, 15 miles from Arnhem. Here he met Staff-Sergeant Alan Kettley of the Glider Pilot Regiment, and shortly after Lieutenant Leo Heaps, a Canadian officer attached to the 1st Parachute Battalion, who had been trying to find others in the camp who were keen to escape when he noticed Kettley and Banwell displaying a little more than a passing interest in the perimeter fence. By that evening the three men had formed a plan of escape and gathered what equipment they had to hand; an escape map that was too small to be of much use, a button compass, Kettley's nail clippers, a tin of chocolate, a box of matches, and a grey German Army blanket. The men in the camp were separated according to their rank, but Heaps left the officers compound and pretended to be a Sergeant so that he could stay with them. They were eventually marched to a railway siding where they were crammed into cattle cars bound for Germany. Once inside Kettley got out his nail clippers and began to work away at the porthole-shaped window to remove the glass, a task he had completed in a matter of minutes. He then used his clippers to saw through the meshed barbed wire on the other side of the porthole, although Banwell claimed in his own account that he achieved this using a saw blade from his escape kit. Once it had been cut, Heaps put his arm through, grabbed the other side of the porthole, and made several attempts to tear it from its fixings, eventually unhinging a section of wood measuring 3 feet by 18 inches. The three men jumped off the train and into the night; one other man asked if he could go with them but had to be left behind as he had a serious leg wound.
By dawn on the 30th September, they had made significant progress and at first light halted to rest beneath the German Army blanket, which sheltered them a little from the biting cold. As the morning progressed, they saw that there was a small wooden cottage ahead with smoke coming from the chimney. The prospect of some warmth was more than they could resist, and so they knocked on the door which after several minutes was nervously opened to reveal an elderly lady and two young children. The lady could not speak any English, and so Banwell improvised some sign language, and she smiled and invited them in, where they were given small cups of hot milk before they took their leave a few minutes later. Having travelled several miles further they were beckoned into a farm house by two Dutch women, who gave them civilian clothing and prepared, to men who had gone 10 days without a satisfactory meal, a comparative feast of fried eggs, bread, and cheese. As they were finishing their meal, Piet Oosterbroek, a member of the Dutch Resistance, arrived and shook them by the hand. He had heard of their presence from the old lady at the wooden cottage, who had misunderstood Banwell's sign language and was under the impression that they were German deserters. Oosterbroek had no doubt as to their identity, and so had tracked them down to offer them shelter in the hay loft of his own farm, close to the village of Putten.
Their stay here was brief, however, as German troops were heavily patrolling the area, so on the following morning they were driven cross-country on motorcycles for an hour until they arrived at a chicken coup in the middle of an otherwise empty field. Inside the coup were four members of the Resistance and two Dutch SS prisoners. The RAF had been dropping weapons and supplies to the Resistance, and amongst the arsenal they had acquired was a Bren gun which was placed on the table before the Airborne men, and the Dutch explained that they had no idea how to strip and maintain it. Banwell, who had at one time been an instructor, was only too happy to demonstrate the dismantling and reassembling of the gun within the expected two minutes. The Resistance were impressed, and ask Banwell if he would be willing to forego his plans to escape and remain with them to give further instruction; he agreed and so on 1st October said farewell to Lieutenant Heaps and Staff-Sergeant Kettley.
One day the Resistance were told to intercept a German officer from Berlin who was carrying important documents, believed to be related to the V weapons programme. Oosterbroek's group planned to ambush his car at the Oldenaller bridge, and a few days prior to his arrival, Banwell led a group to the spot and organised their positions. On the night of the ambush, he took command of the Bren gun while the other Resistance members were armed with rifles. Shortly after midnight the car approached and Banwell attempted to open fire but the gun jammed, however he was able to clear it and fired several seconds later. He believed that he had killed several of the men inside, however none of the Germans were in fact killed and all managed to escape except for a wounded officer whom they took prisoner. One of the resistance men was fatally wounded, and he and the German were carried to their shelter where the wounds of the latter were dressed. The documents he carried were not connected to the V weapons but were instead plans of one of Hitler's headquarters. They interrogated the man but he refused to speak. Banwell was in favour of killing him, but the Dutchmen were against this and so he was loaded into a wheelbarrow and abandoned by the bridge, where he would certainly be found. This act of mercy, however, did nothing whatsoever to deter reprisals. On the following day, the Germans set fire to 110 buildings in Putten, and 590 of its male population, aged between 15 and 50, none of whom were involved in or knew of the attack, were sent to concentration camps. 552 did not return. Banwell had no knowledge of these events until after the war, and later expressed his sorrow.
In December 1944, Banwell met Captain Noble, 133 Parachute Field Ambulance. Noble's account of this time reads:
After 3 days, having expressed the intention of attempting to cross the Rhine without help I was taken by another son of the bath-house manager to a farm near SCHERPENZEEL where SGT. BANWELL, 10 Btn, Para Regt, was in hiding and with whom it was intended to make the escape. The address of this farm I cannot remember. It was situated midway along and a little north of the SCHERPENZEEL - RENSWOUDE road. Prior to his successful attempt to cross the Rhine, Pte DAVIDSON RAMC hid there.
After 10 days (i.e. about 16th Dec) Banwell and myself were moved down to a farm at GINKEL near LEERSUM which is about ½ mile from the RHINE. Two days were spent there and we were then moved to an empty house in LEERSUM - the "BERGHOF" where we spent 6 days. This was organised by the GINKEL underground group whose leader was called "NICK".
There was again talk of an attempt to get us through the line and after discussion the idea of an independent attempt was postponed.
At the end of these 6 days I was taken to a house in AMERONGEN - the LINDENHOF where Mrs. ROLAND-HARE-DOORN-METER and her sister in law Mrs van HEYST looked after me for 8 days.
On the 2nd January 1945, Banwell and Noble joined a party of Allied personnel in an attempt to reach the British lines. Captain V.R. Schjelderup MC of the 1st Battalion The Canadian Scottish Regiment was amongst them, and on successfully contacting British troops submitted the following report of his experiences that day:
At 1245 approx., myself and three others were taken away by bicycle to AMERONGEN (Sheet 5, 4380). We were there put up in the house of Mr. CORNELISSEN living AMERONGEN. I, together with Sgt. PORTER, stayed at his house. The others were put up in nearby houses. We were altogether eleven men brought down in three days from the UTRECHT area to AMERONGEN and awaiting to cross the lines.
By parties of one and two we moved on bicycles from AMERONGEN. I was with CORNELISSEN and DERRICK. We crossed the RHINE by ferry at (Sheet 5, 4378) by paying 10 cents. We assembled the whole lot of us in a brick factory at (Sheet 5, 4876). At 1830 hrs. approx. we set off on foot: 11 Allied personnel, DERRICK, and 2 other Dutchmen as guides. Names of Allied personnel are:
- Capt. V.R. SCHJELDERUP, M.C.
K.42160 C.S.M. BERRY, W.
K.46862 Sgt. GRI, A., M.M.
R133074 Sgt. PORTER, R.E., R.C.A.F.
K.62742 Pte. SWARTZ, H.
Pte. BRIERRE, M.
F.82729 Pte. TRAINOR, L.F.
A polish soldier.
Pte. HARDY - Paratrooper
Pte. MURPHY, T. " 156 Para. Bn.
Capt. NOBLE " 133 Fd. Amb.
Sgt. BANWELL, K. " 10 Bn.
We moved as a patrol with DERRICK in command. The country was flooded and frozen and very difficult. At 2100 hrs. approx. we bumped into a German patrol. We dispersed, lay down and froze. When the patrol had passed we pushed off rapidly, but we had lost the Polish soldier and the Dutchman who was the guide for the latter phase of the journey. We kept going East until we hit a large demolished factory (Sheet 4, 571746) where we had a conference as to what was the best way to cross the line. Knowing the main dispositions of the British troops we decided to work Southwards. On reaching the road at 573739 we were shot at by automatic weapons at very close range. The party scattered, eight to the South for the road and then Westwards. We were pursued by managed to shake them off. We lost, and never saw again, one Dutchman and the following three men: Capt. NOBLE, Sgt. TEX (?) [Banwell], Pte. MURPHY. Sgt. Major BERRY was badly wounded in the left elbow. At 568731 we were again shot at by automatic weapons from three mutually supporting positions. They were firing Bren guns and British mortar flares. I, together with Sgt. GRI and HARDY, took cover. The remainder panicked and ran madly onto the ice away from the weapon whenever it fired. I called them but they would not come back. I thought things over and decided that it must be the British line.
Schjelderup ordered Hardy to pursue the men, which he did at great risk and under fire, but was unable to locate them. The three survivors lay up during the following day and then successfully reached the British lines. Sergeant Banwell, Captain Noble and Private Murphy were at various phases taken prisoner. Banwell was unharmed and was marched to Velp for interrogation, although he was so frozen that he could barely move. Ordered to strip, it was noticed that he had clean underwear and, suspecting that he was not a recent evader but had been sheltered by the Resistance for some time, he was handed over to the Gestapo. He was flown to Berlin where he underwent numerous interrogations, and was ordered to reveal the names of the Dutch Resistance he had been in contact with, and his refusal to answer led to him being twice brought before a mock firing squad. He endured grim conditions for the remainder of the war, existing on a serving of water and sauerkraut each week, until he was released by the Red Army in March 1945. By this time he weighed just 90 pounds, half of his normal weight.
Returning home, Banwell continued to serve in the Parachute Regiment, Territorial Army, until November 1970, and was likely amongst Britain's most senior parachutists. At the 25th anniversary of Arnhem in 1969, he had jumped once more from a Dakota over Ginkel Heath, formerly DZ-Y, to make his 650th descent. It was far from his last as he felt the experience of parachuting kept him "mentally alert". He donated his battle dress jacket to the Airborne Museum Hartenstein, where it is presently on display.
Tex Banwell died in 1998. The following obituary appeared in the Daily Telegraph.
Sergeant K. D. 'Tex' Banwell who died age 81, in the course of a busy life officially impersonated General Montgomery, served in the Long Range Desert Group and the SAS, was captured on a raid on Crete and was guarded by the former world heavyweight boxing champion Max Schmeling, escaped, subsequently took part in the Battle of Arnhem, was wounded and taken prisoner.
He escaped and joined the Dutch resistance, was captured, tortured and put in front of a firing squad by the Gestapo, was imprisoned in Auschwitz and, after being liberated weighing less than half his normal weight, parachuted out of aircraft more than 1,000 times 'for fun.'
Keith Demer Banwell, also known as 'Tex' was born on October 8, 1917, and began his military life with the Coldstream Guards. He then transferred to the Royal Hampshire Regiment (1st Battalion), which was serving on the North West frontier of India at a time of considerable turbulence.
In 1938 his Battalion moved to Palestine, where the Hampshires were engaged in counter-terrorist duties, and then in 1939 to Egypt. In Egypt the Hampshires were joined by members of the French Foreign Legion, to whom Banwell became a physical training instructor. The French were tough, but Banwell was tougher.
Soon afterwards volunteers were required for an unspecified new force. Tex Banwell answered the call and found himself in 52 Middle East Commando.
A shortage of shipping, however, hampered seaborne raiding by the Commandos and Banwell soon switched to the land-based Long Range desert Group, which operated closely with the SAS.
Banwell was captured in a raid on Tobruk, but with a friend managed to steal a German vehicle and escape. During a subsequent raid on Crete he was taken prisoner at Heraklion and put under the personal supervision of Schmeling, who was serving in the German Army.
Banwell and a few of his comrades managed to slip away from their captors and then acquired an assault landing craft. With the help of some Cretan fishermen they made their getaway, but the craft ran out of fuel and drifted for nine days before reaching the North African coast. The privations of this voyage put Banwell in hospital for 12 weeks.
When he had recovered, someone noticed that he bore a resemblance to General Montgomery. It was decided that he should participate in deception ploys, and so Banwell was sent to Cairo to meet Montgomery, given the appropriate clothing, insignia and General's badges and sent on trips around the Middle East to confuse enemy spies.
However, as he was considerably taller than Montgomery, he was told that on no account should he get out of the car. Banwell, finding the assignment boring, sought a return to the infantry.
Here he was introduced to parachuting and soon joined what became the 10th battalion of the Parachute regiment. Despite his heavy work schedules he also had many successes at Regimental boxing and cross-country running.
In September 1944, Banwell flew into Arnhem in a Dakota carrying 15 parachutists, of whom 6 were killed when the aircraft was hit by enemy fire. Banwell himself landed safely and fought throughout the battle until he was wounded and once more taken prisoner.
He subsequently escaped by jumping from a moving train as it entered Germany. He then linked up with the Dutch Underground Resistance, for whom he became an instructor in weapons and explosives.
In 1984 Banwell made his 1,000 jump at Arnhem on the 40th Anniversary of the battle. He went on to jump again on the 50th Anniversary at the age of 77.
He was a second Dan black belt at Judo, held the record for the 10th Battalion road walk from Birmingham to London and marched from London to Brighton in 10.5 hours.
He was awarded a BEM in 1969, and in 1992, the Netherlands Silver Cross for his services to the Dutch Resistance.
My thanks to Bob Hilton and John Howes for this account.
See also: Lt Heaps, Pte Davison.