Cyril Banks
Encyclopedia
Colonel Cyril Banks MBE
(12 August 1901 – 23 October 1969) was a British
engineer, company director, and politician. He was a Conservative Party
representative, but his friendship with President Nasser
and Egypt
led him to sacrifice his career over the invasion of Suez
.
, to a lower middle-class family. He was sent to a council school, and then became an apprentice in mechanical engineering for five years. In 1922 he went to the University of Sheffield
to study, and became an Associate in Mechanical Engineering. Banks was then employed by the Standard Motor Company
for three years.
From 1926 Banks went to India
where he worked as Chief Engineer of Madras
Tramways. He returned to Britain in 1929 to work for Guy Motors
Ltd., and the next year married Gladys Drackley; they had no children. He moved in 1930 to be transport adviser to the Goodyear Tyre and Rubber Company
; Banks was an Associate of the Institute of Transport.
led him to volunteer for duty in the wartime Civil service
, and he was drafted in to be Transport Officer for the North-Eastern Division of the Ministry of Food
. From 1940 he was Emergency Feeding Officer and Assistant Director of the Wartime Meals Division of the Ministry, and he was awarded the MBE
for his work in the role.
Civil Affairs Branch where he was Chief Supply Officer for the Chief of Staff, Supreme Allied Command ('COSSAC'). He was commissioned on the British Army
General List in 1943 and soon became a Lieutenant-Colonel. He was soon promoted again to the rank of Colonel
and the responsibility for supply to Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
(SHAEF). Banks was making the arrangements to supply the allied armies after the Battle of Normandy
.
, to the north of Leeds
. He was elected to West Riding of Yorkshire
County Council from Otley in 1946. He stood down in 1949 on being selected as Conservative Party
candidate for Pudsey
, a newly created constituency based on Pudsey and Otley
which was expected to be closely fought. The constituency had lost the Conservative-voting Otley to Ripon
, and with it went the sitting Member Malcolm Stoddart-Scott
.
still felt that the Labour Party
candidate had the best chance of winning. However, on election day Banks managed to win with a majority of 64. This was the fourth smallest majority of the election.
in May, in a debate on the far east and Asia; he concentrated on availability of food and speculated that if the calorie scale was lifted then the people there would be the finest defence against Communism. He came back to the issue two days later in respect of the British people. In November 1950, Banks was one of the Members picked to introduce a Private Member's Bill
, and presented a Bill to improve the packaging and handling of food; he was not high enough up the list for his Bill to get passed.
Banks led an attack on government restrictions on the Nickel
industry in July 1951, moving to annul an order which prohibited the manufacture of goods of more than 8% Nickel. At the general election in October 1951
, Banks fought for re-election with the benefit of incumbency and of the Liberal Party
's decision not to field a candidate; he was re-elected with his majority increased to 3,356.
appointed Banks as his joint Parliamentary Private Secretary
in November 1952, but the appointment lasted only until September 1953. He was less active in the Parliament, because he was building up contacts with the government of Egypt
: in September 1954 he was invited to join the Egyptian Government production council as an adviser.
as an individual merely because he had called for British troops to be withdrawn from the Suez Canal
Zone, and called for help to the Egyptian government to irrigate land and feed the starving people.
After again increasing his majority in the 1955 general election
, Banks continued to campaign for better relations with Egypt. He spoke in December 1955, threatening that the Middle East would turn to the Soviet Union
for help if they got none from the west. He also urged that Palestinian refugee
s be settled where they were then living because it was impossible to resettle them all in Israel
. At the same time, Banks was making an unofficial attempt to try to start talks between Israel and Egypt.
's strong response, placed Banks in a difficult position and he deplored the vacillation in policy, while agreeing in principle with Eden that the canal should be an international waterway. When Eden sent British troops to occupy the canal, Banks was appalled and on 8 November he announced to his constituents that he had renounced the Government Whip
to sit as an Independent
.
Banks' stance was not approved by his local association. On 15 November the executive of Pudsey Conservative Association passed a resolution pledging support for the Prime Minister and appointed a committee to select a new candidate for the next election. Banks made it clear that he would continue to represent the constituency without the support of the association.
from Port Said
during a time when Banks was in Egypt; Banks was able to ask Nasser about the officer's fate. In February 1957 Banks went again to Cairo
, trying to intervene on behalf of a Briton employed by the Prudential Insurance Company
who was on trial for espionage. Banks was optimistic after these visits that the relationship between Britain and Egypt could be improved.
, which accused Egyptian ministers of homosexuality and venality.
In December 1958, Banks was again granted the Conservative Party whip. He continued to visit Egypt, personally intervening on behalf of individual Britons imprisoned there, and after he ceased to be a Member of Parliament he visited in order to confirm that Egypt was not preparing for war against Israel.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(12 August 1901 – 23 October 1969) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
engineer, company director, and politician. He was a Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
representative, but his friendship with President Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of...
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
led him to sacrifice his career over the invasion of Suez
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
.
Early career
Banks was born in SheffieldSheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, to a lower middle-class family. He was sent to a council school, and then became an apprentice in mechanical engineering for five years. In 1922 he went to the University of Sheffield
University of Sheffield
The University of Sheffield is a research university based in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original 'red brick' universities and is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities...
to study, and became an Associate in Mechanical Engineering. Banks was then employed by the Standard Motor Company
Standard Motor Company
The Standard Motor Company was founded in Coventry, England in 1903 by Reginald Walter Maudslay . The Standard name was last used in Britain in 1963, and in India in 1987.-1903–1914:...
for three years.
From 1926 Banks went to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
where he worked as Chief Engineer of Madras
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
Tramways. He returned to Britain in 1929 to work for Guy Motors
Guy Motors
Guy Motors was a British company based in Fallings Park, Wolverhampton that made cars, lorries, buses, and trolleybuses.-History:Guy Motors Ltd was founded in 1914 by Sydney Guy who had been the Works Manager of nearby Sunbeam. A factory was built on the site at Fallings Park, Wolverhampton...
Ltd., and the next year married Gladys Drackley; they had no children. He moved in 1930 to be transport adviser to the Goodyear Tyre and Rubber Company
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery....
; Banks was an Associate of the Institute of Transport.
Wartime civil service
In 1935 Banks set up Banks Equipment Ltd, an engineering company, of which he became Managing Director. The outbreak of the Second World WarWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
led him to volunteer for duty in the wartime Civil service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
, and he was drafted in to be Transport Officer for the North-Eastern Division of the Ministry of Food
Minister of Food
The Minister of Food Control and the Minister of Food were British government ministerial posts separated from that of the Minister of Agriculture. A major task of the latter office was to oversee rationing in the United Kingdom arising out of World War II...
. From 1940 he was Emergency Feeding Officer and Assistant Director of the Wartime Meals Division of the Ministry, and he was awarded the MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for his work in the role.
War Office
Banks received a promotion in 1943 to the War OfficeWar Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
Civil Affairs Branch where he was Chief Supply Officer for the Chief of Staff, Supreme Allied Command ('COSSAC'). He was commissioned on the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
General List in 1943 and soon became a Lieutenant-Colonel. He was soon promoted again to the rank of Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
and the responsibility for supply to Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force , was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was in command of SHAEF throughout its existence...
(SHAEF). Banks was making the arrangements to supply the allied armies after the Battle of Normandy
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
.
Pudsey politics
After the war, Banks settled in OtleyOtley
-Transport:The main roads through the town are the A660 to the south east, which connects Otley to Bramhope, Adel and Leeds city centre, and the A65 to the west, which goes to Ilkley and Skipton. The A6038 heads to Guiseley, Shipley and Bradford, connecting with the A65...
, to the north of Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
. He was elected to West Riding of Yorkshire
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
County Council from Otley in 1946. He stood down in 1949 on being selected as Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate for Pudsey
Pudsey (UK Parliament constituency)
Pudsey is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
, a newly created constituency based on Pudsey and Otley
Pudsey and Otley (UK Parliament constituency)
Pudsey and Otley was a parliamentary constituency centred on the towns of Pudsey and Otley in West Yorkshire. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system....
which was expected to be closely fought. The constituency had lost the Conservative-voting Otley to Ripon
Ripon (UK Parliament constituency)
Ripon was a constituency sending members to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1983, centred on the city of Ripon in North Yorkshire.-History:...
, and with it went the sitting Member Malcolm Stoddart-Scott
Malcolm Stoddart-Scott
Colonel Sir Malcolm Stoddart-Scott OBE MC TD was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom.He attended Elmfield College and was then a master there...
.
1950 election
Banks was rated as a moderate candidate who could appeal to moderates in other parties, but on the eve of poll The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
still felt that the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
candidate had the best chance of winning. However, on election day Banks managed to win with a majority of 64. This was the fourth smallest majority of the election.
Food supplies
He made his maiden speechMaiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
in May, in a debate on the far east and Asia; he concentrated on availability of food and speculated that if the calorie scale was lifted then the people there would be the finest defence against Communism. He came back to the issue two days later in respect of the British people. In November 1950, Banks was one of the Members picked to introduce a Private Member's Bill
Private Member's Bill
A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...
, and presented a Bill to improve the packaging and handling of food; he was not high enough up the list for his Bill to get passed.
Banks led an attack on government restrictions on the Nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
industry in July 1951, moving to annul an order which prohibited the manufacture of goods of more than 8% Nickel. At the general election in October 1951
United Kingdom general election, 1951
The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats...
, Banks fought for re-election with the benefit of incumbency and of the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
's decision not to field a candidate; he was re-elected with his majority increased to 3,356.
Egyptian contacts
Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Alan Lennox-BoydAlan Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton
Alan Tindal Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton, CH, PC, DL was a British Conservative politician.-Background, education and military service:...
appointed Banks as his joint Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
in November 1952, but the appointment lasted only until September 1953. He was less active in the Parliament, because he was building up contacts with the government of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
: in September 1954 he was invited to join the Egyptian Government production council as an adviser.
Suez
In July 1954, Banks had made a speech in a debate on Egypt which made his position plain. He declared it would be wrong to judge Colonel NasserGamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of...
as an individual merely because he had called for British troops to be withdrawn from the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
Zone, and called for help to the Egyptian government to irrigate land and feed the starving people.
After again increasing his majority in the 1955 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1955
The 1955 United Kingdom general election was held on 26 May 1955, four years after the previous general election. It resulted in a substantially increased majority of 60 for the Conservative government under new leader and prime minister Sir Anthony Eden against Labour Party, now in their 20th year...
, Banks continued to campaign for better relations with Egypt. He spoke in December 1955, threatening that the Middle East would turn to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
for help if they got none from the west. He also urged that Palestinian refugee
Palestinian refugee
Palestinian refugees or Palestine refugees are the people and their descendants, predominantly Palestinian Arabic-speakers, who fled or were expelled from their homes during and after the 1948 Palestine War, within that part of the British Mandate of Palestine, that after that war became the...
s be settled where they were then living because it was impossible to resettle them all in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. At the same time, Banks was making an unofficial attempt to try to start talks between Israel and Egypt.
Resignation of the whip
Nasser's nationalisation of the canal, and Anthony EdenAnthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957...
's strong response, placed Banks in a difficult position and he deplored the vacillation in policy, while agreeing in principle with Eden that the canal should be an international waterway. When Eden sent British troops to occupy the canal, Banks was appalled and on 8 November he announced to his constituents that he had renounced the Government Whip
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
to sit as an Independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
.
Banks' stance was not approved by his local association. On 15 November the executive of Pudsey Conservative Association passed a resolution pledging support for the Prime Minister and appointed a committee to select a new candidate for the next election. Banks made it clear that he would continue to represent the constituency without the support of the association.
Egyptian contacts
Banks was called on by the War Office to help when the Egyptians abducted Anthony MoorhouseMoorhouse Affair
The Moorhouse Affair was a military confrontation between the United Kingdom and the United Arab Republic over the abduction and murder of Second Lieutenant Anthony Moorhouse in Port Said, Egypt, following the end of British military operations in the 1956 Suez Crisis.-Biography:Anthony Gerard...
from Port Said
Port Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
during a time when Banks was in Egypt; Banks was able to ask Nasser about the officer's fate. In February 1957 Banks went again to Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, trying to intervene on behalf of a Briton employed by the Prudential Insurance Company
Prudential plc
Prudential plc is a multinational financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom.Prudential's largest division is Prudential Corporation Asia, which has over 15 million customers across 13 Asian markets and is a top-three provider of life insurance in mainland China, Hong...
who was on trial for espionage. Banks was optimistic after these visits that the relationship between Britain and Egypt could be improved.
Sacrifice of career
However, Banks knew that the chances of an independent candidate were minimal, and that despite the withdrawal from Suez in 1957 he could not hope to re-establish his career in the Conservative Party. In November 1957 he explained that he had sacrificed his political career in an attempt to promote understanding in the Middle East, and would stand down at the next election. He refused to be ashamed by being a friend of President Nasser, whom he declared wanted friendship with the west. After a visit to Egypt the following month, Banks complained at the propaganda being broadcast to Egypt by a station called "The Voice of Truth" set up in CyprusCyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, which accused Egyptian ministers of homosexuality and venality.
In December 1958, Banks was again granted the Conservative Party whip. He continued to visit Egypt, personally intervening on behalf of individual Britons imprisoned there, and after he ceased to be a Member of Parliament he visited in order to confirm that Egypt was not preparing for war against Israel.