Letters from Uganda 1896-1905

Frederick Grant ('Deaf') Banks (1875-1954) served variously as a trader, government official, planter, elephant hunter and game ranger in Uganda. Born in London but raised in Christchurch, New Zealand, Banks went to Africa in 1896 at the age of 21.

Letters sent between 1896 and 1905 to Frederick Bank's widowed mother and two sisters, and a folder of related correspondence. His letters provide a unique record of the life of a junior in a commercial firm in Africa at this time. He witnessed or comments upon the Kamasia/Nandi expedition of the Kabaka in 1897; the Sudanese Mutiny of 1897-1899; Macdonald's and Martyn's expeditions, 1897-1899; and the Nandi Rising, 1900. After working with a coastal merchant, Banks moved into coffee planting and then set off on a prospecting trip to the Congo. He later became a noted big game hunter. Four copies of A.T. Mason's published work 'Report on the letters of Frederick Grant Banks' are included with the collection.

Presented to the Colonial Society in 1968 by Captain C.R.S. Pitman, under whom Banks worked in the Uganda Game Department, and the late H.B. Thomas.

Please cite as Cambridge University Library: Royal Commonwealth Society Library, Letters from Uganda 1896-1905, RCMS 167

Mason, A T (1975), 'Report on the letters of Frederick Grant Banks (1875-1954) in Uganda 1896-1905', London: The Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts.

The letters have been microfilmed, and the list is published by Adam Matthew Publications Ltd: 'Africa through Western eyes, parts 1 & 2: Original manuscripts from the Royal Commonwealth Society Library at Cambridge University Library - a listing and guide to the microfilm collection' (2000).

Indexed

This collection level description was created by WS using information from 'Africa Through Western Eyes.'

Available on microfilm: Reel 7.