#Matthew banks of jamestown professional#

By the time we had recordings of both Americans and Brits some three centuries later (the first audio recording of a human voice was made in 1860), the sounds of English as spoken in the Old World and New World were very different. What most people think of as an 'American accent,' or most Americans think of as 'no accent,' is the General American (GenAm) accent, sometimes called a 'newscaster accent' or 'Network English.' Because this is a blog post and not a book, we'll focus on these two general sounds for now and leave the regional accents for another time.Įnglish colonists established their first permanent settlement in the New World at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, sounding very much like their countrymen back home.

What a lot of Americans think of as the typical 'British accent” is what's called standardized Received Pronunciation (RP), also known as Public School English or BBC English. There are many, many evolving regional British and American accents, so the terms “British accent” and “American accent” are gross oversimplifications.

Kindly visit for information and online condolences.Readers Nick and Riela have both written to ask how and when English colonists in America lost their British accents and how American accents came about. In lieu of flowers, a donation in his name can be made to the Wounded Warrior Foundation or, the Navy Divers Association, or a charity of your choice. The family feels the love and prayers from so many of Bruce’s friends from around the world and takes comfort in them and understands if they are unable to attend. The family is requesting all participants please wear a mask and socially distance due to COVID 19 concerns. 21, 2021, in St Matthew’s Church, 87 Narragansett Ave., Jamestown with his interment following the church service in the Rhode Island Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in Exeter. He loved to read and enjoyed traveling, especially to his condo in Costa Rica, where he was living when he became ill.īruce will be missed and he will be remembered through all the lives he has touched and the many friends he had.Ī church service will be conducted at noon Tuesday, Dec. He also served as technical advisor and subject matter expert for the film “Men of Honor.”īruce was a member of St Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Jamestown and a lifelong member of the Day Spring Masonic Lodge in Monson.īesides his career accomplishments, Bruce was an avid fisherman and enjoyed life at sea, sharing this with his many friends and family. These included the Navy Divers Association from 1992 until his passing and the Divers Certification Board of Canada from 2012-20, among others. For several, he served as chairman and/or member of the board of directors.

#Matthew banks of jamestown professional#

He continued oversight of this 50-plus-year-old school until his passing.īruce was a member of many associations and professional certification groups. The graduates can be found working all across the world. Naval Experimental Diving Unit, where he oversaw the expansion of the Mark V saturation diving limits.īruce retired from active duty in February 1986 and settled in Jamestown, where he formed Jamestown Marine Services, a marine engineering, salvage and environmental restoration company.įollowing his passion, in 1999 he became managing owner of Divers Institute of Technology, a commercial diving school in Seattle. These included the command of Harbor Clearance Unit 4 performing combat and salvage in Vietnam, as captain of the USS Reclaimer in Hawaii, command of the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center, Panama City, Fla. He spent much of his Navy career on salvage and diving ships and stations serving as a special operations officer. in 1966 and thus began his passion for the diving community that continued until passing. He attended the Naval School of Diving and Salvage in Washington, D.C.

Navy Reserve and subsequently was commissioned Ensign USNR upon graduating from Worcester State College in 1966.īruce was a proud veteran and had a long and successful 26-year career in the U.S. As a junior in high school, he joined the U.S. He touched so many lives and had a plethora of friends, notably his cousin, James Vaill, who was his lifelong friend, fishing buddy and caretaker in time of need.īruce graduated from Monson High School in Monson, Mass. Mott, wife Rona, as well as his nieces and nephews Serah E.

He leaves a hole in the lives of his sisters and brothers Sandra N. He was born in July 1943 in New Bedford, Mass., the son of the late Ivar Banks and the late Gladys E. 11, 2021, at Bay Pines VA Hospital in Bay Pines, Fla. Bruce Christian Banks (Commander, USN, Ret.), 78, of Jamestown, R.I.