John Sherbrooke Banks (1811–1857), was a British major. Banks was in 1828 nominated to a cadetship in the Bengal army by the Right Honourable Charles Wynn, at that time president of the Board of Control. Arriving in India in 1829, he was posted to the 33rd regiment Bengal Native Infantry, of which he became quartermaster and interpreter in 1833. He was subsequently employed for some time on civil duties in the

Saugor Sagar is a city, municipal corporation and administrative headquarter in Sagar district of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Situated on a spur of the Vindhya Range, above sea-level. The city is around northeast of state capital ...

and Nerbudda territory. In 1842 he served with General Pollock's army of retribution in the march upon

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

, and shortly afterwards was appointed to a subordinate office in the military secretariat. In this office some years later he was brought into contact with the governor-general, the Marquis of Dalhousie, whose confidence and personal regard he speedily acquired. Owing to the absence of the head of the department on sick leave, it devolved upon Major (then Captain) Banks to make all the arrangements for the expedition which resulted in the conquest and annexation of

Pegu Bago (formerly spelt Pegu; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy, is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located north-east of Yangon. Etymology The Burmese name Bago (ပဲခူး) is likely derived from the Mon langua ...

. Shortly after the close of the war, he accompanied

Lord Dalhousie James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie (22 April 1812 – 19 December 1860), also known as Lord Dalhousie, styled Lord Ramsay until 1838 and known as The Earl of Dalhousie between 1838 and 1849, was a Scottish statesman and co ...

on a visit to British Burma, and subsequently became a member of the governor-general's personal staff in the capacity of military secretary. In July 1855 he was deputed upon a confidential mission to Lucknow, to communicate to Sir James Outram, the resident, the intentions of the governor-general regarding the annexation of

Oudh The Oudh State (, also Kingdom of Awadh, Kingdom of Oudh, or Awadh State) was a princely state in the Awadh region of North India until its annexation by the British in 1856. The name Oudh, now obsolete, was once the anglicized name of ...

. When Lord Dalhousie left India, Major Banks joined the Oudh commission as commissioner of

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

, and soon became the trusted adviser and friend of the chief commissioner, Sir Henry Lawrence, by whom, on his death-bed, he was nominated to succeed as chief commissioner, but he survived his chief only a few weeks. In Sir John Inglis's memorable despatch on the defence of the Lucknow residency, the death of Major Banks was noticed in the following terms:—'The garrison had scarcely recovered the shock which it had sustained in the loss of its revered and beloved general, when it had to mourn the death of that able and respected officer, Major Banks, who received a bullet through his head while examining a critical outpost on 21 July, and died without a groan.' Major Banks was a man of excellent judgement and tact, able and industrious in the discharge of his official duties, a brave soldier, and an excellent linguist. His widow, a daughter of Major-general R. B. Fearon, C.B., received a special pension from the India Office in recognition of her husband's services.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, John Sherbrooke 1811 births 1857 deaths British East India Company Army officers