Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Sir Alexander Bannerman, 11th Baronet (16 December 1871 – 10 March 1934) was a pioneer British military aviator. Bannerman was born in Brackley in Northamptonshire and educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin *Wellington College, Wellington, New Z ...

and subsequently at the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

. He succeeded to the title of 11th Baronet Bannerman, of Elsick in Kincardineshire, on the death of his father the 10th Baronet on 2 December 1901. Bannerman was commissioned a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

on 13 August 1891, and promoted to lieutenant on 13 August 1894. He saw active service in the Second Boer War, and was mentioned in Lord Roberts' despatches. Following the end of the war, he was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 22 July 1902. After the war he returned to the United Kingdom on the SS ''Orotava'' which arrived at Southampton in early September 1902, only to depart again in 1903 on a special mission to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

as British military attache at the Japanese headquarters during the Russo-Japanese War. While there, he observed the use by the Japanese of a tethered balloon at Port Arthur. At the start of 1908, Bannerman was sent to the War Office to work as a general staff officer (third class). In October 1910, Bannerman left the War Office in order to replace Colonel

John Capper Major-General Sir John Edward Capper (7 December 1861 − 24 May 1955) was a senior officer of the British Army during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century who served on the North-West Frontier of British India, in South Africa and ...

as the officer commanding the British Army's

School of Ballooning The School of Ballooning was a training and test centre for British Army experiments with balloons and airships. It was established at Chatham in Kent in 1888. The School moved to Stanhope Lines, Aldershot in 1890 when a balloon section and dep ...

. In April 1911, when the School of Ballooning was reorganized and the

Air Battalion The Air Battalion Royal Engineers (ABRE) was the first flying unit of the British Armed Forces to make use of heavier-than-air craft. Founded in 1911, the battalion in 1912 became part of the Royal Flying Corps, which in turn evolved into the R ...

was formed within the

, Bannerman served as its commandant. Just before the Air Battalion became the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

, Bannerman took flying lessons in order to gain his Royal Aero Club certificate. He had been a balloonist, so had little knowledge of aeroplanes and he is not reckoned as a successful commander of the Air Battalion. He retired from Royal Engineers and Royal Flying Corps service on 28 August 1912. Sir Alexander Bannerman died on 10 March 1934 at the age of 62 in George in the Cape Province, South Africa.

Awards and decorations

* Queen's South Africa Medal * King's South Africa Medal *

1914–15 Star The 1914–15 Star is a campaign medal of the British Empire which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces who served in any theatre of the First World War against the Central European Powers during 1914 and 1915. The me ...

* War medal 1915-1918 * Victory Medal * King George V Coronation Medal *

Mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

(Boer War) *

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

, 4th class (Japan) *

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six classes, the lowest ...

, 4th class (Japan) *

Russo-Japanese War Medal The Russo-Japanese War Medal or Medal in Memory of the Russo-Japanese War was a medal issued by the Russian Empire to those who had fought in the Russo-Japanese War and to nurses, medics, priest and other civilians who had distinguished themselve ...

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bannerman, Alexander 1871 births 1934 deaths British military attachés Military personnel from Northamptonshire Aviation pioneers Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire People from Brackley Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 4th class Royal Engineers officers Royal Flying Corps officers People of the Russo-Japanese War