[Middlesex Regiment] William Beningfield
Description:
Born:
14 July 1920, London
Death:
Unknown
Pre-war:
Bill worked as an apprentice furniture refinisher for his father’s company, but at the onset of the Second World War he joined the army. Still in basic training during the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk, he joined active service at the time when the country was seriously preparing for German invasion. However, once it became clear that this was unlikely, he was posted to the 1st Battalion the Middlesex Regiment and shipped out to join them in Hong Kong in early 1941. Unusually, before hostilities began Beningfield and another Middlesex man were invited on a patrol on HMS Thracian as an ‘inter service courtesy’ and a reward for boxing for the regiment.
Wartime:
Beningfield was in B Company, and when the Japanese attacked he was stationed in Pillbox 22 at Stanley (which still exists today), under Sergeant George Robins. He escaped carrying a Thompson sub machine gun, but bent it when jumping into a ditch, rendering it useless. At the time of surrender he was in a poor military position, dug in at the base of a hill armed with an old Lewis gun from the Stanley armoury. Surviving the fighting, he was taken as a POW to Shamshuipo and in September 1942 was sent to Japan aboard the Lisbon Maru. When the latter was sunk, he swam until picked up by Chinese fishermen. After the Japanese picked up the survivors (he noted that the Japanese sailors did everything ‘the Royal Navy way’), and brought them to Japan, he spent the remainder of the war in Osaka #2B (Kobe House) POW Camp, until liberated by the American army.
Post-war:
Like many ex-POWs being repatriated from Japan to the UK, Bill passed through Canada and liked what he saw. In 1948, after marrying his childhood sweetheart Emily (who had been a radar operator throughout the war), they settled in Vancouver and later Surrey, British Columbia. He set up his own business as a furniture refinisher, and they raised five children. After retirement they moved to Eagle Bay, B.C. and then to Quesnel to be closer to their children. The family noted that his greatest regret about being taken prisoner by the Japanese was ‘not being able to take part in D Day’, as he had joined up to fight the Nazis. He survived heart surgery in 2007, but passed away at the end of 2020. At the time of his death he last known survivor of the Lisbon Maru.
Further Reading:
The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru.
Born:
14 July 1920, London
Death:
Unknown
Pre-war:
Bill worked as an apprentice furniture refinisher for his father’s company, but at the onset of the Second World War he joined the army. Still in basic training during the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk, he joined active service at the time when the country was seriously preparing for German invasion. However, once it became clear that this was unlikely, he was posted to the 1st Battalion the Middlesex Regiment and shipped out to join them in Hong Kong in early 1941. Unusually, before hostilities began Beningfield and another Middlesex man were invited on a patrol on HMS Thracian as an ‘inter service courtesy’ and a reward for boxing for the regiment.
Wartime:
Beningfield was in B Company, and when the Japanese attacked he was stationed in Pillbox 22 at Stanley (which still exists today), under Sergeant George Robins. He escaped carrying a Thompson sub machine gun, but bent it when jumping into a ditch, rendering it useless. At the time of surrender he was in a poor military position, dug in at the base of a hill armed with an old Lewis gun from the Stanley armoury. Surviving the fighting, he was taken as a POW to Shamshuipo and in September 1942 was sent to Japan aboard the Lisbon Maru. When the latter was sunk, he swam until picked up by Chinese fishermen. After the Japanese picked up the survivors (he noted that the Japanese sailors did everything ‘the Royal Navy way’), and brought them to Japan, he spent the remainder of the war in Osaka #2B (Kobe House) POW Camp, until liberated by the American army.
Post-war:
Like many ex-POWs being repatriated from Japan to the UK, Bill passed through Canada and liked what he saw. In 1948, after marrying his childhood sweetheart Emily (who had been a radar operator throughout the war), they settled in Vancouver and later Surrey, British Columbia. He set up his own business as a furniture refinisher, and they raised five children. After retirement they moved to Eagle Bay, B.C. and then to Quesnel to be closer to their children. The family noted that his greatest regret about being taken prisoner by the Japanese was ‘not being able to take part in D Day’, as he had joined up to fight the Nazis. He survived heart surgery in 2007, but passed away at the end of 2020. At the time of his death he last known survivor of the Lisbon Maru.
Further Reading:
The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru.
Sources: Photo: Tony Banham
