When I was nine he was the greatest. He still is
Julia and Wendy, and son Robert. Banks met Ursula while he was on National Service in Germany from 1955 until 1957.
He was stationed in Königslutter, Lower Saxony, as part of the Royal Corps of Signals.
Ursula sold shirts at a shop where Banks was a customer and the relationship blossomed from there.
In 2001, he auctioned his World Cup winner’s medal.
It sold for €141,990 and he said he would split the money between his children so that they could buy their first houses.
His gravity-defying exploits on the pitch were remembered in 2004 when author Don Mullan’s book – Gordon Banks: A Hero Who Could Fly – was released.
Theresa May’s official spokesman yesterday described Banks as a “great sportsman and a national hero”. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called him “the great Gordon Banks... a true hero and legend”.
The party’s Deputy Leader Tom Dives for ball for Stoke, ‘70 Statue of Banks at Stoke City Watson said: “Not everyone will know of his contribution to civic life in the Potteries and in Staffordshire as a whole, from support for veterans to dementia care.
“To the people of Staffordshire, he was not just a sporting hero but a community hero.”
Bosses of the German football team posted a photo online of Banks embracing opposition players after the World Cup final in 1966 and described him as “a fierce opponent and a good man”.
■ Sky News anchor Adam Boulton made a blunder on air yesterday as he said: “The death has been announced of former England goalkeeper Gordon Brown.”