Medal display for Brigadier Reginald Francis Hugh Banister - need help

I am having a bit of trouble tracking down this officer via London Gazette & TNA Kew - I do not have his service number (the photo itself popped up online with a request from his grandson to identify the medals)

As displayed: 1939-45 Star, Africa Star, Italy Star, France and Germany Star, Defence Medal, War Medal 1939-45 with oak leaf for being mentioned in despatches (MiD), Efficiency Decoration, European Combatant’s Cross, Dunkirk commemorative medal, battle for the Somme commemorative medal, Cross of Loyalty of the Royal Federation of the Veterans of King Albert I

The only hits I can find online for his name refer to Reginald Francis Hugh Banister, B.Sc. and he might have been a Civil Servant and / or possibly involved in researching Infectious Diseases

 

Sorry, I gave this a real good try..........

I can find a Reginald Francis Hugh Banister on FMP:



Free BMD gives us the following:



However, the Army discharge roll for personnel born before 1908 only gives us the following:



The nearest is 6734240 Banister RF born 4 Jul 1905. No hits for that number on FWR or TNA.

The only thing to add is that I don't think this discharge roll includes officers. Therefore, you could put in a FOI request to the MoD, asking for the service number. Considering he was born more than 116 yrs ago, it shouldn't cause any problems.

Best of luck with your quest.
John.

 

QUOTE Sorry, I gave this a real good try - I can find a Reginald Francis Hugh Banister on FMP QUOTE

Thanks for looking, I can only hope that he appears on an Army Officers' List (I forgot the proper name for the document)

 

Looks like a post 1947 George VI Efficiency Decoration & bar. So qualifying service (20 years before 1949 & 12 years after 1949) for the Award & 6 years for the bar both completed 1947 to early 1950's. I note that war time service counted double so easily served less than the 18 years it would indicate if peacetime.

Also awarded to Commonwealth & Empire forces.

Not found on the wartime Army Lists on ancestry.

Travers

 

There is an online tree that gives 6734240 as the army number of the person you have identified on FMP, with two spells in the TA under that number:
1924 - 1926 20th Londons
1934 - 1936 65th Field Brigade RA

Nothing for that army number in the London Gazette, WW2 Medal cards, RA Tracer cards or WW2 casualty lists.

Civilian occupations of bank clerk in 1924 & motor mechanic in 1936 are quoted as being from his TA attestation. In 1939 this RFH Banister was a chemist foreman filing factory, Industrial Expl...... & a ......?raid Warden, Woolwich BC. Possibly worked at the Royal Arsenal in a reserved occupation..

Travers

 

QUOTE Not found on the wartime Army Lists on ancestry. QUOTE

Thanks for all of your checking - I am struggling with how difficult it is to find details on someone with that final rank, who served for so long and was awarded an ED & an MiD

 

We can also discount an RF Banister found in the London Gazette (officer number 120976) as he was in the RAF.

 

DaveB,

Sometimes online searching comes back with a notice that some returns will not be displayed. Presumably an application has been made, e.g. to Google for suppression.

 

The Quality Engineer. (1945). United Kingdom: (n.p.).

 

Using Colonel R.F.H. Banister his name appears in a members List in the 1960 journal of the Operational Research Society, with a business address CEGB, British Electricity House, (Lombard Street), Portsmouth. From: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3007202

 

Given the directory listings found by Dave & David show a Portsmouth address, this does not rule out the former TA soldier 6732420 as online family trees say he died 1981 in Portsmouth Registration District.

I have had no luck finding Col Banister on Fold3, the Times Newspaper index or British Newspaper Archive.

Travers