Obituary: Derrick Banks
Saddened members of the emergency services fraternity this week spoke about their friend and colleague Derrick Banks, who died recently.
After matriculating at Queensburgh Boys’ High School, Durban-born Banks, who was 45, started his career as a medic, progressing to media liaison, and operations management, working for various companies.
He started off with Netcare and, ended his career at First Responder KZN, working for ER24, Red Line Response and Meditech Emergency Response in between.
Marshall Security's Andreas Mathios said Banks saw breaking news as a verified platform of telling stories factually while at the same time being respectful.
“He was never seeking sensationalism and always bearing in mind what photos or video footage should not be released to respect victims.”
Mathios added that SABC reporters had given himself, Banks and Netcare's Chris Botha the collective nickname “The Big Three”.
“We worked closely together. Anything that happened, we would know from each other.
“Between the three of us we kept the media noses to the ground.”
A mentor to many, according to Jodi Jones, CEO of his last employer, Banks was “hands-on and with no airs and graces”.
Though he had a wealth of experience behind him and held the position of operations manager, he would “happily do jobs like washing ambulances”, she said.
“When we started at the beginning of last year, we knew Derrick Banks was the guy we wanted.
It was scary for him, but he came on board.”
A funeral as well as a customary motorcade are being planned.
The motorcade will probably include the Durban and Pinetown areas, the latter being where he spent a lot of time, said Jones.
Mathios added that Banks was a family man.
“His face would light up at any mention of his kids.”
Banks leaves twin teenage daughters and a son.