Bansall Ian Aitken Lieutenant 137292

Personnel Entry

Capt I A Bansall's CWGC headstone.

Name Bansall Ian Aitken
Army number 137292
Rank Lieutenant
Decorations None known so far.
Date of birth Born Angus 10-Feb-20.
Age 24 at the time of his death.
Unit The Durham Light Infantry - Emergency Commission as 2/Lt 22/6/1940. Posted 14th Bn DLI 4/7/1940. Posted 11th Bn DLI 28/4/1943. Served Normandy. KILLED in ACTION 27/6/1944 with 11th Bn Durham Light Infantry.
Company/Battery Support Company in 14th Battalion. A Company in 11th Battalion. B Company in 11th Battalion.
Platoon or other sub-unit 14th Bn - Carrier Platoon. B Company HQ.
Task or role 2 i/c, Duty Officer. Company 2 i/c in B Company, 11th Battalion.
Joined Brigade 28-Apr-43.
Promotions W/S Lt 22/12/41, A/Capt 29/10/41, T/Capt 29/1/42.
Wounded
Prisoner of War
Died/Killed in action KILLED in ACTION 27-Jun-44. Initially interred at Rauray, alongside other Brigade casualties, Map sheet 7F/1 reference 885.661.
Home address Resident of Durham City. Son of Major John Wilson and Katherine Malcolm Bansall, Norton, Stockton. Educated Durham School and St John's College, Cambridge (Science). Re-buried 26/4/1945 in Grave IV. E. 3. Fontenay-le-Pesnel War Cemetery, Tessel. Headstone inscription reads:- "ONE OF THE MANY FAITHFUL DURHAMS WHO DID SO MUCH FOR SO MANY OF US".
Source table 11DLI

We are grateful to Paul Errington for supplying a more recent image of Captain Bansall's heeadstone, taken during a visit to Normandy in 2019. This is shown below.

Captain Bansall's headstone with an accompanying photograph of him.