Percy Banks
Encyclopedia
Percy d'Aguilar Banks played first-class
cricket
for Somerset
in 1903 and 1908. He was born at Bath, Somerset
and died in the First World War fighting at Ypres
, Belgium
.
Banks was educated at Cheltenham College
and as a schoolboy cricketer he made 103 in the annual Cheltenham match against Haileybury College at Lord's in 1902. A right-handed batsman, he appeared in a single match for Somerset in 1903 and then returned for six more games in 1908, batting mostly in the middle- or lower order but on occasion opening the batting. He made some runs in most games, but his highest score in first-class cricket was only 30, made against Yorkshire
in his last first-class game.
Graduating from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst in 1903, Banks became an officer in the Duke of Edinburgh's Wiltshire Regiment
. In 1906, he was promoted from second lieutenant to full lieutenant and was attached to the Queen's Own Corps of Guides, one of the British India regiments. He was further promoted to be captain in 1912. At the time of his death in the First World War, he was attached to the 57th Wilde's Rifles, an Indian Army regiment that was transferred back to Europe to join the fighting in and around Ypres. During the war, he had been mentioned in dispatches
. His death is commemorated on the Menin Gate
in Ypres.
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
for Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
in 1903 and 1908. He was born at Bath, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
and died in the First World War fighting at Ypres
Ypres
Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
Banks was educated at Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College is a co-educational independent school, located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.One of the public schools of the Victorian period, it was opened in July 1841. An Anglican foundation, it is known for its classical, military and sporting traditions.The 1893 book Great...
and as a schoolboy cricketer he made 103 in the annual Cheltenham match against Haileybury College at Lord's in 1902. A right-handed batsman, he appeared in a single match for Somerset in 1903 and then returned for six more games in 1908, batting mostly in the middle- or lower order but on occasion opening the batting. He made some runs in most games, but his highest score in first-class cricket was only 30, made against Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
in his last first-class game.
Graduating from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst in 1903, Banks became an officer in the Duke of Edinburgh's Wiltshire Regiment
Wiltshire Regiment
The Wiltshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 62nd Regiment of Foot and the 99th Duke of Edinburgh's Regiment of Foot....
. In 1906, he was promoted from second lieutenant to full lieutenant and was attached to the Queen's Own Corps of Guides, one of the British India regiments. He was further promoted to be captain in 1912. At the time of his death in the First World War, he was attached to the 57th Wilde's Rifles, an Indian Army regiment that was transferred back to Europe to join the fighting in and around Ypres. During the war, he had been mentioned in dispatches
Mentioned in Dispatches
A soldier Mentioned in Despatches is one whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which is described the soldier's gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy.In a number of countries, a soldier's name must be mentioned in...
. His death is commemorated on the Menin Gate
Menin Gate
The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing is a war memorial in Ypres, Belgium dedicated to the commemoration of British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of the First World War and whose graves are unknown...
in Ypres.