Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Sir Thomas MacDonald "Donald" Banks (31 March 1891 – 11 July 1975) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer, senior civil servant and a founder member and first Chairman of the

Guernsey Society The Guernsey Society is an organisation for people with an interest in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. Society aims The Guernsey Society aims are to promote, maintain and stimulate interest in all matters concerning the Bailiwick of Guernsey, its past, ...

Family

Banks was born in Guernsey on 31 March 1891, the son of Thomas Brownsort Banks, a stationer, and Margaret Elizabeth (''née'' Roebuck). He had an elder sister, Blanche, and a younger brother, Maurice Rowley. He married Dorothea Webster, and they had one daughter, Dawn Louise, born in 1932. They lived in

Lymington Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It faces Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to which there is a car ferry service operated by Wightlink. It is within the ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

. Dorothea died in 1947. In 1948,Sir Donald married Elizabeth Bradley of

, and they had two children together. They moved to Cadnam Lodge in the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, fea ...

, where he kept a herd of

Guernsey cattle The Guernsey is a breed of dairy cattle from the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is fawn or red and white in colour, and is hardy and docile. Its milk is rich in flavour, high in fat and protein, and has a golden-yellow tinge du ...

Early years

He attended

Elizabeth College, Guernsey The Royal College of Elizabeth, better known as Elizabeth College, is a co-educational independent school in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey. One of the earliest members of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), it is a public school ...

between 1899 and 1909, where he was in the Shooting VIII 1908-9.

Career

He entered the Civil Service in 1909 in the Exchequer and Audit Department. In 1914, he passed the

Civil Service Examination Civil service examinations are examinations implemented in various countries for recruitment and admission to the civil service. They are intended as a method to achieve an effective, rational public administration on a merit system for recruitin ...

, and was appointed to the Secretary's Office of the General Post Office (GPO). He saw service in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as commanding officer of the 10th (Service) Battalion

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

and the 8th Battalion

Royal Berkshire Regiment The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment), b ...

. As a result of his actions, he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

(DSO),

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

(MC), the Croix de Guerre, and was mentioned in despatches twice. After World War I he continued with the Territorial Army, and commanded the Kensington Regiment from 1927 to 1931. He was Private Secretary to the Secretary of the GPO, and between 1920 and 1923 was Private Secretary to four Postmasters-General in succession. In 1924, he was appointed Deputy Controller of the Post Office

Savings Bank A savings bank is a financial institution whose primary purpose is accepting savings deposits and paying interest on those deposits. They originated in Europe during the 18th century with the aim of providing access to savings products to al ...

, and became Controller in 1931. He became first Director-General of the Post Office in 1934, where he was responsible for the introduction of the emergency service '999', as well as the

speaking clock A speaking clock or talking clock is a live or recorded human voice service, usually accessed by telephone, that gives the correct time. The first telephone speaking clock service was introduced in France, in association with the Paris Observ ...

('TIM'). He was knighted in the New Years' Honours List of 1935. In 1936, he transferred to the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

, where he was appointed Permanent Secretary, in 1938 becoming first Permanent Under Secretary of State for Air. He was responsible for setting up the

Empire Air Training Scheme The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), or Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zea ...

, and travelled to Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

to discuss the manufacture of aircraft there. The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

he returned to military service, and was adjutant and Quartermaster General of the

50th (Northumbrian) Division The Northumbrian Division was an infantry division of the British Army, formed in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force with units drawn from the north-east of England, notably Northumberland, Durham and the North and East Ridings of Yorks ...

. He served in the British Expenditionary Force (BEF) in 1940, and was mentioned in despatches. He became a

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in 1943. From 1940 to 1945 he was

Director-General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a governmen ...

of the

Petroleum Warfare Department The Petroleum Warfare Department (PWD) was a government department established in Britain in 1940 in response to the invasion crisis during World War II, when Germany apparently would invade the country. The department was initially tasked with ...

, which developed innovative applications for petrol during the conflict, include

Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation (FIDO) (which was sometimes referred to as "Fog Intense Dispersal Operation" or "Fog, Intense Dispersal Of") was a system used for dispersing fog and pea soup fog (dense smog) from an airfield so that ai ...

FIDO, (fog dispersal at airports), and

PLUTO Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest ...

(pipeline under the ocean taking fuels from England to Europe during and after the invasion build-up). In 1946, he was awarded Legion of Merit, Degree of Commander by the

President of the United States of America The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

. The citation reads: :"Major-General Sir Donald Banks, British Army Director General, Petroleum Warfare Department, Ministry of Fuel and Power, performed outstanding services in the European Theater of Operations from March 1943 to November 1944, by assisting in the production and manufacture of an improved American flamethrower fuel. His department cooperated fully with the American Forces and adapted the Crocodile mechanical flamethrower to the Sherman tank, and trained American personnel in its operation and maintenance. He also provided the Ninth United States Army Air Force with a field mixing unit which was employed during the Normandy campaign. General Banks cooperation and keen understanding of the problems involved, contributed substantially to the successful prosecution of the war." After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he resumed his civil service career in the Air Ministry. Sir Donald was Head of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

delegation to the

International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

in 1946, and Deputy Chairman of the Air Transport Advisory Council 1947-51. He was also a Director of De La Rue and

Standard Telephones and Cables Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd (later STC plc) was a British manufacturer of telephone, telegraph, radio, telecommunications, and related equipment. During its history, STC invented and developed several groundbreaking new technologies incl ...

, and Chairman of the Anglo-Chinese Chamber of Commerce 1946-54. In 1956, through his role with De La Rue, he became Master of the

Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards The Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards is one of the livery companies of the City of London, incorporated in 1628, and ranking at No.75 in the order of precedence. It is limited to 150 members, and its livery colours are red and whi ...

. In his obituary, ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' described him as ''"''a man of ideas whose versatility contributed much to the national well-being in war and peace''"''.

Guernsey Society

Sir Donald was most concerned with the welfare of his fellow islanders exiled as a result of the German occupation of the Channel Islands, and was in constant touch with the Home Office and Civil Servants responsible for the welfare of evacuees. He felt that there must be an informed voice and body of opinion among exiled Guernseymen and women that could influence the British Government, and assist the insular authorities after the hostilities were over. In 1942, he was approached by the Home Office to see if anything could be done to get over a reassuring message to the islanders, as it was known that, despite the fact that German authorities had banned radios, that the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Family

Early years

Career

Guernsey Society

Legacy

Bibliography

References

External links