John Croisdale Banks (June 1915 – 16 January 2010) was an English political activist and writer, noted for his work on the territorial aspects of constitutional reform.

Early life

Banks was born in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in June 1915. He was educated at

Chatham House Grammar School (May Chatham House Flourish) , established = 1797 , free_label_3 = Merged , free_3 = 2011 , closed = , type = Grammar schoolAcademy , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = , head ...

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...

(1929–1934), and the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, from where he graduated (BSc (Econ)) in June 1936. Between 1936 and 1939 he lectured for the Workers' Educational Association in east Kent and was active in the

Left Book Club The Left Book Club was a publishing group that exerted a strong left-wing influence in Great Britain from 1936 to 1948. Pioneered by Victor Gollancz, it offered a monthly book choice, for sale to members only, as well as a newsletter that acqui ...

from 1937.

Military service

Banks was embodied in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

(Territorial Army) in August 1939, embarking for the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

as Quartermaster in December 1940. In March 1942 he transferred to the Army Educational Corps and was commissioned in July 1942. Between September 1942 and March 1944 he served as Staff Captain at GHQ Middle East Forces,

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

, where he was Middle East editor of the Army publications ''Current Affairs'', ''War'' and ''British Way and Purpose''. He saw service with 3 Corps (Palestine), 56 London Division (Italy) and 5 Corps (Italy) between March 1944 and April 1945. Following postings to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Tenby Tenby ( cy, Dinbych-y-pysgod, lit=fortlet of the fish) is both a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the western side of Carmarthen Bay, and a local government community. Notable features include of sandy beaches and the Pembroke ...

and London District (May 1945 to February 1946), he was discharged in the rank of Major.

Academic career

From February 1946 to September 1948, Banks was employed as Research Officer by the

Institute of the Motor Industry The Institute of the Motor Industry is the professional body for individuals working in the motor industry, internationally. IMI is the authoritative source of retail industry information, standards and qualifications. IMI plays a vital role in ...

. He then took up a post as Lecturer (later Senior Lecturer, then Principal Lecturer) in Public Administration at Kingston Technical College (later Kingston College of Technology), where he remained until 1969. After a year as Head of the School of Business,

Kingston Polytechnic , mottoeng = "Through Learning We Progress" , established = – gained University Status – Kingston Technical Institute , type = Public , endowment = £2.3 m (2015) , ...

, he became Reader in Public Administration at the

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public university, public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and ...

(1970–1974). He returned to Kingston Polytechnic as Head of Learning Resources from 1975 until his retirement in 1977.

Political work

Banks joined the

Common Wealth Party The Common Wealth Party (CW) was a socialist political party in the United Kingdom with parliamentary representation from the middle of the Second World War until the year after its end. Thereafter it continued in being, essentially as a pres ...

(Services Section) in 1943, taking part in the 1945 General Election in support of CW candidates. He served CW as General Secretary (November 1946 to April 1955), Chairman of the National Committee (April 1955 to May 1959) and as editor of ''The Libertarian'' (later ''CW Journal'') from December 1979 until the party's dissolution in 1993. Banks' special interest has been the territorial aspects of constitutional reform. He co-wrote (with

Gwynfor Evans Gwynfor Richard Evans (1 September 1912 – 21 April 2005) was a Welsh politician, lawyer and author. He was President of the Welsh political party Plaid Cymru for thirty-six years and was the first Member of Parliament to represent it at Westmi ...

, Robert McIntyre and others) ''Our Three Nations'',Evans (1956) issued jointly by CW, Plaid Cymru and the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

in 1956. This advocated regional

devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories h ...

within an independent, post-colonial England. The only published book of which he was sole author was ''Federal Britain?'',Banks (1971) sub-titled 'The Case for Regionalism' (1971). With the exception of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, the regions defined in the book were based on

Derek Senior Derek Senior (4 May 1912 – 6 December 1988) was a British freelance writer principally known for being a member of the Royal Commission on Local Government in England, chaired by Lord Redcliffe-Maud. Early life and career Senior was born 4 May ...

's 1969 map of 'city-regions', in turn based on commuting patterns. Banks subsequently repudiated this approach, in favour of historically-based regions. In 1980 he was introduced to the

Wessex Regionalist Party The Wessex Regionalists are a minor English regionalist political party in the United Kingdom. It seeks a degree of legislative and administrative home rule for Wessex, an area in the south and south-west of England loosely based on the Anglo-Sax ...

, where he helped edit ''The Statute of Wessex'', the party's draft constitution for their region, before contesting the Westbury seat in the 1983 General Election. He polled 131 votes.Banks (1986) From 1982 to 1990 he was editor of ''The Regionalist'', reporting on

Home Rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

campaigns from

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

to Cornwall and beyond. He afterwards served as the Secretary-General of the Wessex Regionalists and later as the party's President. Banks retired from active political life in his late 80s. He died in January 2010 at the age of 94 in Coventry, Warwickshire.

Family connections

Banks' stepdaughter, Clare Banks, is a BBC radio journalist and newsreader.

References

Reading

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, John 1915 births 2010 deaths Alumni of the University of London Common Wealth Party politicians English male non-fiction writers English political writers People educated at Chatham House Grammar School People from Kent British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery soldiers Royal Army Educational Corps officers Common Wealth Party Military personnel from Kent