Career
He was 32 years old, and a lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the Venture capital. On 8 August 1917 in the Bay of Biscay, Atlantic, Lieutenant Bonner was with HMS Dunraven (one of the "Q" or "mystery" ships playing the part of an unobservant merchantman) when she was shelled by an enemy submarine. The lieutenant was in the thick of the fighting and throughout the whole of the action his pluck and determination had a considerable influence on the crew. Ernest Herbert Pitcher was also awarded the Victoria Cross in this action.
Bonner, who died at home in Edinburgh in 1951 aged 66, was cremated at Warriston Crematorium.
His ashes were buried in Street Mary"s Churchyard, Aldridge, West Midlands.