Rex Benson (merchant banker)
Sir Reginald Lindsay Rex Benson | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 20, 1889 Mayfair, London, England |
| Died | September 26, 1968 (aged 79) |
| Occupation(s) | Merchant banker, military officer |
| Years active | 1910–1961 |
| Known for | Military service in WWI and WWII; chairman of Robert Benson & Co. |
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Reginald Lindsay "Rex" Benson, DSO, MVO, MC (20 August 1889 – 26 September 1968) was a British merchant banker and military officer.
Early life and family
Benson was born in Mayfair as the son of the merchant banker and art enthusiast Robert Henry Benson and Evelyn Mary, whose father was the art collector and politician Robert Stayner Holford. He received his education at Ludgrove School and later at Eton, where he captained the cricket team and led the Pop club. In 1909, after a single year at Balliol College, Oxford, he left to join the Life Guards.
He was the elder sibling of Constantine Evelyn Benson CBE DSO.
Military career
In 1910, Benson was commissioned as a subaltern in the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers and served as aide-de-camp to the Viceroy of India in 1913. Throughout the First World War, he participated in major engagements such as the battles of Aisne, Ypres, and Messines, where his valor earned him the Military Cross. After sustaining injuries and exposure to gas at the Second Battle of Ypres, he returned home for medical care. Subsequently, he acted as liaison officer to the French Minister of Marine, unofficially assisting British intelligence efforts. Following his involvement in Ireland during the 1916 Easter Rising, Benson resumed duties in France as liaison to Generals Franchet d'Espèrey and Marshal Pétain, for which he was awarded the French Croix de Guerre and inducted into the Légion d'honneur.
After the war, Benson served as Chief of the British Mission at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. He attained the rank of Major in 1920 and was appointed Military Secretary to the Governor of Bombay, contributing to the organisation of the Prince of Wales’s 1922 visit. Upon leaving military service, he undertook a covert operation commissioned by Prime Minister David Lloyd George to establish trade with Soviet Russia, successfully smuggling £10,000 worth of tea and other goods.
Banking and diplomacy
In 1924, Benson became a partner in his family’s banking firm, Robert Benson & Co, which was undergoing restructuring. The firm suffered considerable losses due to its significant investment in US securities following the 1929 Wall Street crash, resulting in a period of inactivity for its offices. Nevertheless, by 1934 Benson had recovered most of these losses, nearly doubling the value of both its English and New York trusts between 1928 and 1935 despite earlier difficulties. He broadened American investments through business travels across North America and succeeded his elder brother as chairman in 1936.
World War II interrupted his professional trajectory; during this period, Benson served as liaison officer with the French First Army until Dunkirk, chaired the Inter-Allied Timber Commission in 1940, and held the position of Military Attaché at the British Embassy in Washington from 1941. Following the conflict, he returned to lead Robert Benson & Co., overseeing its merger with Lonsdale Investment Trust that created Robert Benson Lonsdale & Co. In recognition of his service as Honorary Treasurer of the English-Speaking Union, he was knighted in 1958. Although he stepped down as chairman in 1959, he continued to serve on the board until 1961.
Personal
In 1932, Benson wed Leslie, who was previously married to Condé Nast and was the daughter of Albert Volney Foster, an investment banker from Illinois. Together, they had two sons, and Benson also took on the role of stepfather to Leslie's daughter from her earlier marriage.
He passed away unexpectedly in Naples in 1968.