 Banks was posted to Germany with the Royal Signals on national service, and won the Rhine Cup with his regimental team.He recovered from a fractured elbow to help the Chesterfield youth team to the 1956 final of the FA Youth Cup.There they were beaten 4–3 on aggregate by Manchester United's famous "Busby Babes"—a team that included both Wilf McGuinness and Bobby Charlton.