# Banner Johnstone
**Banner Carruthers Johnstone** (11 November 1882 – 20 June 1964) was an English oarsman who won a gold medal in the men's eights at the 1908 Summer Olympics as a member of the Leander Club crew representing Great Britain.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/37344) Known by the nickname "Bush", he rowed in four consecutive Cambridge Boat Race crews and later held colonial administrative posts in Ceylon and Zanzibar before a military career in the First World War.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/37344)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name / nickname | Banner Carruthers Johnstone; known as "Bush"[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/37344) |
| Born / died | 11 November 1882, Bebington, England; 20 June 1964, aged 81[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/37344) |
| Olympic result | Gold, men's eights, 1908 London, rowing for Leander Club[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/37344) |
| Boat Race | Cambridge crew 1904–1907; wins in 1904, 1906, and 1907; CUBC president in 1907[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/37344) |
| Henley wins | Grand Challenge Cup 1904 and 1905; Silver Goblets 1906, 1907, and 1909[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/37344) |
| Measurements | 178 cm / 81 kg[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/37344) |
| Later career | Colonial service in Ceylon and Zanzibar; OBE; rowing correspondent of the Daily Telegraph[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/37344) |
## Early life and Cambridge rowing
Johnstone was born in Bebington, then in Cheshire and now in [Merseyside](https://www.edgepedia.org/merseyside), and was educated at Eton, where he was captain of the boats, before going up to [Trinity College, Cambridge](https://www.edgepedia.org/trinity-college-cambridge), where he was a member of the Pitt Club.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/37344) He rowed in the Cambridge boat in the Boat Race for four years, from 1904 to 1907, and was President of the Cambridge University Boat Club in his final year.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/37344) Cambridge won the race in 1904, 1906, and 1907 and lost in 1905.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/37344)
## Henley and the 1908 Olympics
At [Henley Royal Regatta](https://www.edgepedia.org/henley-royal-regatta), rowing for Leander Club, Johnstone won the Grand Challenge Cup in 1904 and 1905 and the Silver Goblets, the pair-oared event, in 1906, 1907, and 1909.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/37344) A summary in the A-Z of British Olympic rowing gives the Grand and Goblets as two wins each, a count that differs from Olympedia's three Goblets years.[2](https://gbolympics.co.uk/Rowing.pdf)
In 1908 he was a member of the Leander eight that won the gold medal in the men's eights at the London Olympics, the only Olympic appearance of his career.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/37344) • [2](https://gbolympics.co.uk/Rowing.pdf) The crew, which finished in a time of 7:52, included [Albert Gladstone](https://www.edgepedia.org/albert-gladstone), Frederick Kelly, Guy Nickalls Sr., Charles Burnell, Ronald Sanderson, Raymond Etherington-Smith, Henry Bucknall, and [Gilchrist Maclagan](https://www.edgepedia.org/gilchrist-maclagan) alongside Johnstone.[3](https://www.canottaggio.org/old/1_risultati/risultati_2008/1_Beijing2008/doc/media_guide.pdf) Olympedia records his heats in the event as wins in round one, heat two, on 29 July and in the semifinal, heat one, on 30 July 1908.[4](https://www.hermandw.be/FullOlym/biojoh.htm) Leander Club's own history marks 1908 as the year the club won its first [Olympic medal](https://www.edgepedia.org/olympic-medal).[5](https://www.leander.co.uk/about-leander-club/)
## Colonial service and war
In 1909 Johnstone joined the Government Survey Department in Ceylon, and in 1913 he moved to the Administration of Zanzibar.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/37344) On the outbreak of the First World War he initially served with the Carrier Corps in [East Africa](https://www.edgepedia.org/east-africa), then transferred to the [Black Watch](https://www.edgepedia.org/black-watch), in which he was commissioned a lieutenant in the 3rd (Volunteer) [Battalion](https://www.edgepedia.org/battalion), and was awarded the OBE for his services in France and Belgium.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/37344) The A-Z rowing record places him as Provincial Commissioner in Zanzibar in the late 1920s and dates his OBE to the 1930 New Year Honours list.[2](https://gbolympics.co.uk/Rowing.pdf)
## Later years
In his later years Johnstone was the rowing correspondent of the Daily Telegraph.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/37344) • [2](https://gbolympics.co.uk/Rowing.pdf) He died on 20 June 1964 at the age of 81; Olympedia gives the place of death as Bournemouth, while the A-Z rowing record gives Parkstone, Dorset.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/37344) • [2](https://gbolympics.co.uk/Rowing.pdf)
## References
1. [Banner Johnstone, Olympedia](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/37344)
2. [A-Z Rowing: JOHNSTONE, Banner Carruthers, GB Olympics](https://gbolympics.co.uk/Rowing.pdf)
3. [2008 Olympic Rowing Regatta Media Guide, Historical Results 1900–2004, FISA/Infostrada](https://www.canottaggio.org/old/1_risultati/risultati_2008/1_Beijing2008/doc/media_guide.pdf)
4. [Great Olympians biographies, JOH](https://www.hermandw.be/FullOlym/biojoh.htm)
5. [About Leander Club](https://www.leander.co.uk/about-leander-club/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Water sports › Rowers and coxswains › British and Irish rowers*
*Initially written Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license