Childhood Memories
Ever since I met my wife Jo, I recall her telling me that, as a child, she had known footballer Gary Bannister and runner Shirley Strong. Anyway, we were discussing the former recently. Jo mentioned that she had known Gary’s sister Julie, that he had also had a brother called Tony and their father had been a butcher.
Wikipedia
Anyway, a family member decided to look this up on the Internet and found, on Wikipedia, that Gary did indeed have a sister Julie and she had played hockey for England. However, there was no mention of another brother. Their father was identified as Gordon but his job was given as school caretaker.
Google AI
A direct question to Google AI received the answer that “No, English former footballer Gary Bannister does not have a brother named Tony” along with various explanations as to where the confusion may have come from including another pair of footballing Bannister brothers, Bruce and Jack, and a well-known Gary and Tony footballing combination, Gary Pallister and Tony Mowbray at Middlesbrough. Neither of these could have any possible relevance to my wife’s memories!
Google AI was also adamant that Gary Bannister’s father was not a butcher and that Jo was probably mixing up other butchers with the Bannister surname!
Free BMD
Wikipedia records that Gary Bannister was born in Warrington. However, surprisingly, a search of Free BMD for any Gary Bannister born in Warrington yields no results. However, there was a Gary Bannister born in Q3 1960 whose birth was registered in Newton. This was an independent registration district from 1934 to 1974 but was then absorbed into Warrington and St Helens.
That record identifies Gary’s mother’s maiden name as Richardson. Using that information, I was able to confirm that his sister Julie was born in Q1 1962 and there were also two brothers – Tony (b1956) and Lee (b1965).
Also a Footballer?
Jo recalls that Tony was also a footballer. However, there does not seem to be any record of him playing professionally. Nonetheless, based on newspaper records, it appears that, in 1972, Tony was a striker for Colne Youth Club. That year, he joined Coventry City as an apprentice, the route that younger brother Gary would later follow so successfully. Tony spent two seasons at Coventry City and played at least once for their Reserves in February 1973.
He then went on to play for Bangor City from at least September 1974 to January 1975. He was scouted by Sunderland in December 1974 but left to train with the first team at Preston North End in January 1975. I am not sure what happened there but, in March 1975, he was transferred to Northwich Victoria.
Tragically in the summer of 1976, he was involved in a car accident in Blackpool and lost an eye. My mother-in-law recalls this and that this effectively ended his career as a footballer.
Nevertheless, he played for a number of semi-professional clubs including Altrincham, Burscough, Winsford United and Witton Albion. Perhaps one highlight of his career was playing against Sheffield United in the first round proper of the FA Cup in November 1979 even though Burscough lost 3-0 that day.
Was Gordon Bannister a Butcher?
According to Wikipedia, Gary’s father Gordon was a school caretaker. That is certainly the case. He retired as caretaker of St Helen’s Hollinfare in 2004 aged 75. However, he had only worked there for two years.
There was a Gordon Bannister working as a butcher in Hollins Green in 1989. He came to prominence that year because, while out walking his dog, he found the bloodstained clothing of murder victim Helen McCourt. He also saw the killer’s car driving from the scene. Local Facebook Groups confirm that Gordon Bannister was the local butcher in Hollins Green for many years.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, my wife’s memories have been proved correct based on a detailed review of public records and newspaper archives. While Wikipedia is correct that Gary Bannister had a sister Julie, he also had two brothers. One of them, Tony, had had a promising future in football but tragically lost an eye in a car accident in Blackpool in 1976. Although he did manage to continue playing non-league football at a relatively high level, he didn’t ever reach the heights of his more well-known younger brother.
While Wikipedia is also correct that Gary’s father was a school caretaker, he appears to have only been in this role for a short period. He was for many years the butcher in Hollins Green. As the person who found the victim’s bloodstained clothes, he played a pivotal role as a witness in the investigations and trial of Ian Simms for the murder of Helen McCourt.
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