Banner Carruthers Johnstone (11 November 1882 – 20 June 1964) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

oarsman Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically att ...

who competed in the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

. Johnstone was born in

Bebington Bebington () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Cheshire, it is south of Liverpool, close to the River Mersey on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsula ...

, then lived in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, and was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

, where he was captain of the boats, and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he was a member of the

Pitt Club The University Pitt Club, popularly referred to as the Pitt Club, the UPC, or merely as Club, is a private members' club of the University of Cambridge. It was formerly male-only, and has admitted women since 2017. History The Pitt Club was ...

. At Cambridge he rowed in the head of the river four times and won the pairs, fours, and

double scull A double scull, also abbreviated as a 2x, is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two persons who propel the boat by sculling with two oars each, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") ar ...

s. He rowed for

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

in the

Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. It is also known as the Uni ...

in 1904, 1905, 1906 and 1907, being in the winning crew three times he was once President of the C.U.B.C. After Cambridge, Johnstone joined

Leander Club Leander Club, founded in 1818, is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, and the oldest non-academic club. It is based in Remenham in Berkshire, England and adjoins Henley-on-Thames. Only three other surviving clubs were founded prior ...

. At the

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a Rowing (sport), rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It diffe ...

, he won

Silver Goblets The Silver Goblets & Nickalls' Challenge Cup is a Rowing (sport), rowing event for men's coxless pairs at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing clubs ...

in 1906 and 1907 with R V Powell and 1909 with Edward Gordon Williams. He twice beat Julius Beresford and Karl Vernon. He also competed in the

Grand Challenge Cup The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing (sport), rowing competition for men's eight (rowing), eights. It is the oldest and best-known event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male cr ...

in a series of contests with the Belgian

Royal Club Nautique de Gand (English: ''Royal Rowing Club of Ghent'' / French: ''Royal Club Nautique de Gand'') is a rowing club from the Belgian city of Ghent founded in 1871. The association is located at the Ghent urban Watersportbaan rowing course. It has an exten ...

, being twice on the winning side. The Rowers of Vanity Fair In 1908 he was a crew member of the Leander eight, which won the gold medal for Great Britain

rowing at the 1908 Summer Olympics At the 1908 Summer Olympics, four rowing events were contested, all for men only. Races were held at Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the Riv ...

. Johnstone had been commissioned a second lieutenant in the 3rd (

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

) battalion of the

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

in 1901 and was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 11 October 1902. In 1909, Johnstone joined the

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Government Surveys and in 1913 joined the Colonial Civil Service in

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

. At the start of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he was in the Transport Corps in East Africa, but went to France in 1917 with the 1st

and 1st Infantry Brigade. He was awarded the OBE for services in France and Belgium. For many years, Johnstone was the rowing correspondent for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

''. Johnstone died in

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

at the age of 81.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnstone, Banner 1882 births 1964 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English male rowers British male rowers English Olympic competitors Olympic rowers for Great Britain Rowers at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in rowing Members of Leander Club Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics

See also

References

External links