Henry Thomas Banks
Biography
Henry Thomas Banks was born on 11 November 1866, in Hythe, Hampshire, the eldest son of Henry Martin and Sarah Banks.[1] Probably he was born in the fourth house from the south on Hythe High Street,[2] and the family were on the High Street at the time of the 1871 census,[3] where they remained on the 1881 census. Henry, by then aged 14, was described as a sailor,[4] and as a 10-year-old he had gone to the Mediterranean with his father,[2] a master mariner, on a ship belonging to the Bessemer family of Mount House, Hythe.[5] In 1889 he spent three months cruising the Channel on the Merrymaid,[6] a 25 ton yacht owned by D C W Lysons;[7] probably a few years later he worked on the construction of the Price of Wales dry dock in Southampton.[5] It was in the 1890s that he started work for Hythe Ferry. Family tradition say this was a temporary arrangement while his uncle Richard Banks was ill.[2] Initially he worked as a deckboy on the Frederica and Hotspur, gaining a pilot's certificate in 1909, and becoming the ferry captain shortly after, a job he retained until about 1935.[8]
On 1 August 1890, Henry married Susan Barfoot at Hedge End, Hampshire,[9] the village where she was born and grew up.[10] After their marriage they lodged on Hythe High Street with Henry's maternal grandmother, Hester Smith, and this is where their oldest son John was born.[11] By 1901 they had moved to 1 Prospect Place, Hythe,[12] and towards the end of the decade they moved down the road to 4 Prospect Place,[2] where they are found on the 1911 census, together with all eight of their children.[13] (This house has since been renumbered 7, and named Ferryman's Cottage, presumably after Henry; it is now grade II listed.) Henry died on 28 September 1952,[14] aged 85, only three months after his retirement from the Hythe Ferry,[8] and Susan died on 26 July 1957, aged 90, leaving an estate valued at £2347 1s 11d.[14]
Children
- John Martin Banks (1890–1971). Married Violet Ethel "Queenie" Wilmott (1890–1970).
- Elsie Winifred Banks (1897–1978). Married Harold Arthur Beels (1892–1953).
- Mabel Louise Banks (1899–1979). Married Stephen Biggs (1892–1973).
- Bessie Banks (1900–1957).
- Henry Samuel Banks (1902–2003). Married Jessie Dorothy Green (1901–1958).
- Susan Evelyn Banks (1904–1990). Married Thomas "Paddy" Glenn (1902–1988).
- Arthur Thomas Banks (1905–2002). Married Constance Frances Scheu (1914–1978).
- Hilda May Banks (1909–2010). Married Samuel Crosbie (1904–2001).
Sources
- ↑ Banks, Arthur. Transcript of Banks family bible, circa 1995. Privately held by Richard Smith. (The bible was last known to be in the possession of Henry's second son Harry.)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Information provided to Richard Smith by Arthur Banks, Henry's youngest son.
- ↑ The National Archives. 1871 census for Fawley, Hampshire, England (RG10/1185), fol 10, p 12. Henry Martin Banks's household. Digital images on Ancestry.com.
- ↑ The National Archives. 1881 census for Fawley, Hampshire, England (RG11/1203), fol 11, p 16. Henry M Banks's household. Digital images on Ancestry.com.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Unknown newspaper clipping, "Diamond Wedding", about August 1950. Copy held by Richard Smith.
- ↑ Certificate of Discharge. Dated 22 June 1889. Copy held by Richard Smith.
- ↑ The National Archives. Discovery catalogue entry "Merrymaid Reg No 94516" (DCrew/94516).
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Titheridge, Alan. Hythe Pier and Ferry: A History, p 82. Southampton, 1981.
- ↑ Marriage certificate of Henry Thomas Banks and Susan Barfoot, 1 Aug 1890, at the parish church of Hedge End, Hampshire. Original held by Richard Smith.
- ↑ The National Archives. 1881 census for Botley, Hampshire, England (RG11/1218), fol 28, p 25. John Barfoot's household. Digital images on Ancestry.com.
- ↑ The National Archives. 1891 census for Fawley, Hampshire, England (RG12/911), fol 9, p 12. Hester Smith's household. Digital images on Ancestry.com.
- ↑ The National Archives. 1901 census for Fawley, Hampshire, England (RG13/1051), fol 6, p 4. Henry T Banks's household. Digital images on Ancestry.com.
- ↑ The National Archives. 1911 census for Hythe, Hampshire, England (RG14/5912), sched 18. Digital images on Ancestry.com.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Principal Probate Registry. Index to wills and administrations, 1858–1995. Digital images on Find a will, UK government website.
