John Alexander Bannerman was the second Governor of Penang to die of disease within four years, his predecessor William Petrie having died of malaria in 1816, suggesting that Penang was not the healthiest of postings during the early 19th century.

Grave in the Protestant Cemetery, Georgetown, of John Alexander Bannerman, Governor of Penang, who died of cholera in 1819 whilst in office

Like his predecessor William Petrie, Bannerman was essentially an “India man” having served the East India Company in Madras from 1776 to 1800, first as a cadet and climbing to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1800 when he retired.

He then returned to England, aged 47, and stood and was elected to Parliament in 1807 but this was short-lived and he soon lost his seat.

During the next ten years he was appointed several times as a director of the East India company and in 1817, when he ceased to be eligible as a director, he was appointed to the government of the Prince of Wales Island.

He arrived at Penang on board the Metcalfe and was sworn in as Governor on 24th November, 1817.

During his short two-year governorship he was constantly in dispute with Sir Stamford Raffles, his subordinate in Singapore.

Bannerman rightly saw Singapore as a threat to the trade and economy of Penang and refused to co-operate with Stamford Raffles in particular when he requested Bannerman send troops to Singapore to counter the Dutch threat.

Plaque in St George’s church, Penang, commemorating the life of John Alexander Bannerman, Governor of Penang who died in office in 1819

Bannerman’s concerns about the threat of Singapore to the status of Penang, were prophetic although he did not live to see the transfer of the capital of the Straits Settlements from Georgetown to Singapore in 1832.

Bannerman died of cholera on 8th August, 1819, aged 61, whilst in office and was buried in the Protestant cemetery in Georgetown.