Bill was born in 1933, a much longed-for child of Bill Banister senior, and Eve Banister. An only child, with all the typical traits.
He went to Prep School at St. Ronan’s in Hawkhurst, and then onto the fairly prestigious St. Edwards in Oxford – his grades were less prestigious.
He was then called up for National Service and joined the REME Regiment.
Bill absolutely loved National Service, it was the making of him. He spent most of his service in West Germany at the outset of the Cold War. He loved army life, and he learnt his trade and passed all of his Mechanic’s Certificates. He also had a spectacularly successful business, buying up all of the Cigarette Ration-Cards from the non-smokers in his regiment, and selling them onto the West Germans. This set him on a course of trading / dealing, in pretty much anything, that lasted his entire life.
When he left the army, he returned to Northiam, met Ros and they married in 1958. Richard was born in 1963, Ruth in 1966 and Charlie in 1975.
Like many of the old Northiam families, Bill was absolutely rooted in the village. In fact, there’s a point on the farm where you can see every house he ever lived in – Whitfield, where he lived as a child; Goteley House, which he and Ros built shortly after they were married; Silverden Manor, where they lived for 12 years and where Richard and Ruth were brought up; and Goteley Manor which they finally acquired in 1976, reuniting the Manor House with the farm that his Grandfather had first purchased, and split, in 1939.
When asked his job, Bill would always respond with ‘Farmer’. And indeed, he was a hop-farmer, a pig-farmer, an arable-farmer. But the truth is, it was a difficult farm to make work, so he always had other businesses going on while he was farming: a haulage business with his great friend Percy Carter. Groundwork. Demolition. Architectural Salvage. Grain Buyer. To name a few.
And then finally, military vehicle spares – Bill had always dabbled with military vehicles and their spares since his time in the army, but the business became very successful in the late 1970s onwards, took over everything else, and Bill was one of those incredibly lucky individuals who adored his work, and who made a success of it.
After a very short illness Bill died in his own bed, at his beloved Goteley, having said goodbye to Ros, and with Charlie holding his hand. He will be missed by all those who knew him.
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Banister’s Military Vehicle Spares
Sales Office:
Quiet Storm Hub,
Talbot Street Whitwick,
Coalville,
Leicestershire,
LE67 5AW
Our warehouse locations are not published and we are not able to facilitate visits.
RW Banister Ltd trading as Banister’s Military Vehicle Spares
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