MATT BANKS- plastic surgeon/pilot
 

Matt Banks graduated in medicine from Sydney University in 1922. He first practised in Lismore where he took flying lessons from Keith Virtue. He bought a DH60 which he used to provide medical services as far west as Bourke.
He was personal physician to Sir Charles Kingsford Smith. They became firm friends, often playing golf together. (After the death of CKS, his widow gave Matt Banks her husband's golf sticks.)

At the outbreak of the Second World War Banks sailed to England where he studied plastic surgery under Sir Archibald McIndoe. After the war he bought a Miles Gemini with which he flew to Europe on many occasions to treat wealthy patients. The wife of the Aga Khan, for instance. He and his wife flew as far as Greece for holidays. On one occasion he was arrested by British customs when gold bars were found hidden in the upholstery of the Gemini.

A biography of Matt Banks, 'No Man Despairs', was written by Alan Mitchell, who also wrote one on Neville Duke.

A search for an obituary has been fruitless. If one is known , Fantome would love to see it.

Dr. Banks.....now there is a name that jogged my memory!!

I was fortunate enough to meet Dr. Banks when he was a member of the Tiger Club, at Redhill Aerodrome, back in the early 1960's, and I was a teenage "hangar rat"

He kindly took me flying a couple of times in his Gemini G-AKDB, once to Biggin Hill and another time to Panshangar.

But the most interesting trip he took me on was a zero groundspeed, vertical landing, onto the hangar floor!!

The aircraft was kept next door to the Tiger Club, in one of the Bristow hangars.
I was approached one day, by one of the Bristow Licenced engineers to give him a hand changing a switch in the instrument panel on the Gemini.

In order to change the switch, the instrument panel was hinged, and had to be held aft, (this was my job) while the LAE unscrewed the switch from the back side.
To enable the removal of the panel's facia plate, the following switch selections, amongst others, had to be made.
Master switch on
Both Mag switches on, and undercarriage up.

To enable this selection to be done safely, we removed the rear seat cushion, and disconnected the ship's battery.

Halfway through the job, with myself and the LAE concentrating our attention behind the panel, Matt Banks climbed up onto the wing, behind us, and commented on the amount of sweet papers etc. under the now open rear seat.

He proceeded to clean up and tidy under the seat .......during this operation he unwittingly reconnected the battery, which resulted in the sound of the undercarriage retracting!!

Poor old Delta Bravo sat down in the middle of the hangar, on its belly.

Luckily the props were horizontal, the cowls and rocker covers were not so lucky!
The serious damage was the U/C uplocks being pushed past the normal up position and damaged.
The aircraft was AOG for three months while new uplocks were manufactured.
Tony

that's a sad story alright . . .. . any chance you can track down any later detail on Matt? thanks Tony

I'm afraid that I can't add any more about Dr. Banks, I lost touch with him when the Gemini left Redhill, and in due course I left the UK to work overseas all my career.
Thanks for the information about his early life..............I had no idea.
Tony

Nothing yet to hand about Dr Matt Banks latter years and his passing. Anybody???

Wonder The Times index has nothing.

Well Fantome, it looks like its only you and me that remember the man, still thats better than nothing I suppose!
Tony

Still unable to find an obituary. Maybe there is someone with better research skills than I who might be able to turn up something. There is a great nephew, Dr John Banks, of Sandy Bay, Hobart, who is also keen to know more on this subject.

I have a copy of the biography of Dr Matt Banks, 'No Man Despairs' if that helps anyone.

Dr Matt Banks
 

G-AKDB registration was cancelled in November 1970, perhaps sold after his death?
Doesn't help much but may give a time reference for searches?

G-AKDB had quite a few owners according to ginfo.

it was registered to Dr Banks on two occasions the first being from 1950-1953 and again from 1958-1962. This seems a little strange.

From 1962 onwards it had 4 different owners until it was removed from the UK Register on 1 November 1970, as “Destroyed”.

Not necessarily strange - If Dr Banks spent large periods of his life working in different countries it seems logical that perhaps, before departing to spend time outside the UK, he sold the aircraft and on his return several years later bought it back again?

Just a thought.

BCAR 1919-1999 says of G-AKDB that it was withdrawn from use on 23.07.1970, broken up at Tollerton (Nottingham) in 11.1970 and then used for spares, its registration being cancelled on 01.11.1970. But I suppose that, if you put it that way, that does amount to having been destroyed!

just quoting from GINFO which lists it as Destroyed rather than Permanently withdrawn from use!