I was only having a quick web search to see how people generally phrased headings/titles for pages with old photos on them. I searched the phrase (term) ‘Historical Photographs’ and ended up in China. On arrival, I was just curious to see what they had. I thought that I would try a search within the website for ‘Preston’ whilst I was visiting. I starting seeing people from Walton le Dale and Preston on the first page of the search results. I wasn’t really expecting that.
The people in question were Bishop William Banister, his wife Mary Alice, and his son Tom Banister.
Thomas Roger Banister (1890-1955)
University of Bristol – Historical Photographs of China reference number: Ba-s011.
University of Bristol – Historical Photographs of China reference number: Ba-s011.
Thomas Roger Banister was born in Preston on 8 February 1890. After graduating from Cambridge University in 1913, he joined the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, serving until June 1946 when he retired with the rank of Commissioner.
Banister was the son of Bishop William Banister, and Mary Alice, nee Grime. This photograph was taken by Stearn & Sons, 72 Bridge Street, Cambridge, probably when Banister was studying at the university. T.R. Banister was the author of “The Coastwise Lights of China” (1932).
The text accompanying the photograph says that a resume of his career up to 1938 can be found at:
However, this page doesn’t appear to show any information specific to Thomas Roger Banister. Searching for the name allows you to see a Chinese maritime customs service record for 18879: Banister, T.R.
Chinese maritime customs service record
18879: Banister, T.R.
ID: 18879
Surname: Banister
Forename: T.R.
Chinese name (simplified characters): 班思德
Nationality: British
Date of first appointment: 1/12/1913
Position on first appointment: 四等帮办后班 (Fourth Assistant, C)
Date withdrew: 1/6/1946
Port on withdrawal: (在假)
Position on withdrawal: 税务司 (Commissioner)
Mode of withdrawal: Permitted to retire
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PS
I don’t think that I’ll likely be getting my hands on a copy of ‘The Coastwise Lights of China’ by Thomas Roger BANISTER any time soon…
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William Banister (1855 – 1928)
A photograph taken in Preston, by Arthur Winter, shows Bishop William Banister, his wife Mary Alice, and his son Tom Banister.
University of Bristol – Historical Photographs of China reference number: Ba-s020.
William Banister was a missionary of the Anglican Church.
Caption in album or on mount
Bishop Banister, his wife neé Grime, & Uncle Tom
‘Uncle Tom’ = Thomas Roger Banister
He was born in Walton-le-Dale on 31st May 1855, educated at the Church Missionary Society College, Islington and ordained in 1879. He was curate at Balderstone, Lancashire before heading to China as a missionary, rising in time to be Archdeacon of Hong Kong. In 1909 he became Bishop of Kwangsi-Hunan China, a post he held until his retirement in 1923. He died on 26th February 1928.
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The first bishop of Kwangsi-Hunan, William Banister, was consecrated in 1909. CMS had work in Kweilin from 1899 and in Yungchow from 1903, and in 1910 with the impetus of Banister’s appointment missionaries entered Hengchow. The following year CMS declared the diocese an individual mission with its own secretary and conference, though it was the smallest of the CMS China missions, having only 18 missionaries. Its only large institution was the hospital at Kweilin, which had opened in 1910 and was in the charge of Dr Charlotte Bacon (née Bailey). Negotiations about the constitution of the diocese were begun by Bishop Banister in 1913, but the small numbers of Christians made progress slow and CMS did not agree the formal constitution until 1921. But the Church grew steadily and gradually control moved from the mission to the diocese. By 1930 it was almost complete and the ‘Five Years Movement’ initiated throughout the land by the National Christian Council of China gave a fresh impetus to evangelism. These years of peaceful growth and development had contrasted with the first twenty years of the century when there were continual power struggles and missionaries ran a constant risk of being captured by bandits. But in 1937 war with Japan broke out and many of the missionaries had to leave. When the republic was proclaimed in 1949 only a few returned and by 1951 they had all gone.
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Further reading and sources of information
Thomas Roger Banister (1890-1955)
University of Bristol – Historical Photographs of China reference number: Ba-s011
https://hpcbristol.net/visual/Ba-s011
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Bishop William Banister, his wife Mary Alice, and Tom Banister
University of Bristol – Historical Photographs of China reference number: Ba-s020
https://hpcbristol.net/visual/Ba-s020
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Church Missionary Society In Guilin
https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/story/99892
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William Banister – From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(I’m normally reluctant to use it as a source. However it’s the only one William Banister and the information cited in the ‘notes’ seems credible)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Banister
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William Banister (1855-1928), Bishop of Kwangsi-Hunan, China.
National Portrait Gallery
https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw189567/William-Banister
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The Coastwise Lights of China: An Illustrated Account of the Chinese Maritime Customs Lights Service
A scarce study of China’s lighthouses By BANISTER, Thomas Roger
Peter Harrington Limited – £1,250.00
https://www.peterharrington.co.uk/the-coastwise-lights-of-china-150821.html