David Banks
15th April 1938 – 22nd May 2010
It is with great regret that I only knew David for the last 17 years of his life and so I can only write of my experiences with him over this period. Others will have known him for a much longer period and I sincerely hope that they will record their earlier experiences of him.
I did not take up ringing until I moved to Yorkshire some 18 years ago. I first met David on my first weekend ringing trip, organised by Philip Brook. David was one of those people that you took an instant liking to, unassuming but with a wonderful sense of humour. He would always greet you as “Old Pal” and made you feel as though you really were an old pal that you had known all of your life. As a novice learner he was always there to offer constructive help and advice. I don’t ever remember him having a bad word about anybody. What a wonderful example to us all.
About 12 years ago a small group of us set up a ringing and walking group that met once a month, went for a walk in the morning, had a pub lunch and then had a ring in the afternoon. This gave us an opportunity to share our passions of walking and ringing together. David and his wife Jean were founder members of this group and have been with us ever since. From this developed an offshoot group to have a yearly outing, travelling further afield and staying away for a few days. Each year our trip took us to pastures new, which included venues as far away as Northumberland, the Lake District, Isle of Wight, Dorset, Wales, the Cotswolds and Suffolk. Over the years the bond between the group has grown and we now consider each other as family. We have had some wonderful times together with some delightful walks and always a high standard of ringing. For the regular monthly meetings we each take it in turns to organise. David and Jean always picking the August slot and arranging a two day trip, that is always something special.
David and Jean have joined us on our Tadcaster weekend outings for many years and their warmth and good humour and David’s good ringing and experience have really enhanced our time together.
David was taught to ring with his friend John Wackett at Wakefield Cathedral by Wilf Moreton for whom he had a great deal of admiration and respect. He joined the Yorkshire Association in 1953 and continued to ring at Wakefield Cathedral until about a year ago when his debilitating illness prevented him from climbing the stairs. Although not a prolific peal ringer he was a very capable ringer and did a lot to help and encourage others including his daughters and two of his grandchildren to ring and was very proud to have rung in quarters and peals with them. He rang a total of 34 peals for the Yorkshire Association and was a life member. When I first knew David, he was a very fit man and cycled many miles both in this country and abroad with Jean on their tandem. Over the past five years David suffered with an extremely rare lung disease, which gradually prevented him doing many of the things in life that he so enjoyed. David was not to be beaten and battled on without complaint to the end. He loved his ringing and just because he could not climb the Cathedral steps he was not going to give up ringing. Batley had no steps and so he went to ring there with our friends. He formed a handbell group who went to his house every week to ring and insisted that they joined him and had a ring in the hospice four days before he died.
David also had a passion for trains and as a group we had memorable trips with him, one to Inverness and then down to the Kyle of Lochalsh with a ring at Inverness Cathedral. Another was even more special, when he arranged a surprise trip for Jean for her 70th birthday for us all to travel on Eurostar to Paris for a few days.
The church at Rothwell was packed for his funeral on 1st June, tribute to a wonderful man that had left a lasting impression on so many people. We will all miss our “Old Pal”.
Stuart Raggett
