DATA BASE REF: I 1049

 

DAVID BANKS OF CASTOR

David Banks of 9 Thorold’s way Castor is the yr son of Lambert (Larry) Banks and Beryl Banks nee Dudley. He was born in the same house on 5th July 1958 which his parents lived in and which he now owns, and lives in during the school holidays.

 

Family:

 

James King Banks m Jane Ellen Taylor                                                            George Dudley m Sarah Pywell

(a Scot)                                  (from Yorks)

 

 


Children:                                                                                                Children:

1.Amy, 2. Larry (dec),3. Iris,4. Ivy(dec), ,                                         1.Wilfred,2. Beatrice (d inf), 3.Thomas,

5. James(dec),6. Ann                                                                           4.Charlotte (Lottie) Gertrude,

5.Joseph Albert,6. Phyliss Mary,

7.Aubrey Henry,

8.Beryl Jospehine, 9. Cyril Frank (Peter)

 

 

                                                                 Larry Banks m Beryl Dudley

 

 

 

 

 


                                            Clyde Banks m Beverly Agnes (dau of Dulcie Burton)                 David Banks

 

 

 


                                James                     Esther

 

 

Early Life:

David went to Castor CE School in 1963. The school was smaller than now, about 90 children and there were only 5 boys  in his class. The headmaster was Mr Albert Berridge, a traditional and old-fashioned style of head, whom Clyde regards with respect. As his brother Clyde had before him, David passed the 11+ and went to Deacon’s School Peterborough. He was the only child in his year to pass, and it may be the first to pass it since his brother had done 4 years previously.  He caught a bus at 8.10am, got off at Rawlings, then another bus to Long Causeway. He had a season-ticket paid for by the LEA. The other children all went to Glinton. This made his later childhood in Castor somewhat lonely as none of his school friends lived in the village, and transport was a problem, although his father was very good about carting him about, ie to school for Am Dram or to see friends. David did not really comprehend the significance of the 11+; his main concern was, he thinks, to pass because his brother had.

 

Church:

He used to go to Sunday School, in the Lady Chapel in the afternoons( teacher Miss Dolly Ralph), but this stopped once he joined the choir about 7 or 8 years old. It seemed a natural progression, following his brother. He remembers that Jackie Woodward (now Elliott) was in the choir, also Ann Lloyd (nee Jakes), Billy Popple and Jack Coulson among others. The organist/choir-master was Stanley Hill, and the Rector was Tom Adler. Services were, he thinks mostly Mattins at 11am, but they also had a Sung Eucharist. Other services were 8am early Communion, and 6.30pm Evensong. After his voice broke, at about 11 or 12, he took up bell-ringing. The Tower Captain was Frank Sismey.

 

Later Years:

At Deacon’s they still had morning assemblies with prayers, a hymn and notices. The headmaster at Deacon’s was Bill(WR) Upcott-Gill, then Michael Parkes for the last 2 years. He took ‘A’ Levels in Maths, Pure Maths, Applied Maths, Physics and Chemistry, and then went on to Trinity Hall Cambridge. There he did part 1 Natural Science Tripos for 2 years, then Education for a further 2 years. This 4 year degree course included the Teaching Cert. Is he the first child from Castor School to go to Cambridge? Quite possibly. He did his TP at the Free GS, Newport, 20 mils South of Cambridge,a nd this gave him a feel for a traditional style of education, similar to his own. David enjoyed Cambridge. If he hadhis life over he would work harder there. It was not so much the buildings and the history that impressed him and that he enjoyed, rather it was the stimulating company of his peers. There were  a lot of able people from a wide background.

 

Teaching:

He left Cambridge in 1980 to teach at St John’s College Southsea ( a de la Salle Brothers School). In 1983 he then taught at Churcher’s College Petersfield until 1990, when he went to his present school, Old Swinford Hospital , founded in 1667. It is a state boarding school – mostly boarders with some day-boys. There he teaches maths, and is Head of the Maths Department.. he also supports school activities, especially sporting tours for rugby and football. He still always regards Castor as home.

 

The Village:

The village has inevitably changed. It is bigger and there are more houses, and more people he does not know. A lot of the younger generation have moved away, because they cannot afford houses here. It was a small agricultural village when David was a child. The village centred around the church, the school and the pubs; everybody was involved in the life of the village, including those who lived up on the hill, like Mrs Paten and the Blackadders. Even the headmaster lived in the village. If you were doing something you should not, or misbehaving, you knew you would be told off and respected that. The bypass also changed the feel of the village. It is quieter, the traffic has reduced dramatically. It used to be dangerous to cross the road.

 

Notes: WB talking to David 20 Aug 2003