Andrew Percy Bennett (30 July 1866 – 3 November 1943) was a British diplomat.

Early life

Andrew Percy Bennett was born in Fulbourn,

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...

, where his father, the Reverend Augustus F. Bennett, was an Anglican clergyman. He attended Blackheath College (now

Eltham College Eltham College is an independent day school situated in Mottingham, southeast London. Eltham and Mottingham once formed part of the same parish, hence its name. It is a member of The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC). Early hi ...

).''Biographical Register of Christ's College, 1505–1905'', Cambridge, 1913, pp. 742-43.

New Zealand and cricket career

At the start of the 1886 New Zealand school year, at the age of 19, Bennett took up a position as Fourth Master at

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it runs a private preparatory school for year 7 and 8 boys. The school also has ...

, a boys' school in the city of Nelson, New Zealand. He was later promoted to Third Master. The presence of Bennett, the headmaster

William Justice Ford William Justice Ford (7 November 1853 – 3 April 1904) was an English schoolmaster, known as a cricketer and sports writer. Life The eldest of seven sons of William Augustus Ford, of Lincoln's Inn Fields, by his wife Katherine Mary Justice, he ...

, and another master,

William Still Littlejohn William Still Littlejohn (19 September 1859 – 7 October 1933) was a Scottish-born schoolteacher who spent most of his working life in New Zealand and Australia. He was headmaster of Nelson College from 1899 to 1903, and of Scotch College, Melbo ...

, in the College cricket team made it a strong presence among the local clubs. All three also played for

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

in interprovincial matches. Bennett, a batsman and opening bowler, played twice for Nelson, each time against

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

. In his first match, in Nelson in March 1886, he devastated the Wellington batting, taking 6 for 13 and 6 for 5, dismissing Wellington for 36 and 19. In his other match, in Wellington in December 1886, he made 52, the highest individual score in Nelson's first-class history, and took 6 for 55 in Wellington's second innings, but Wellington won narrowly.

Cambridge

Bennett left New Zealand in March 1888 and returned to England, where he enrolled at Christ's College, Cambridge. He graduated in 1891 with Honours in Mediaeval and Modern Languages. He converted his BA to an MA in 1897.

Diplomatic career

Bennett was appointed to the position of British Vice-Consul at

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

in 1893, and then at Galatz in 1895. In 1896 he was appointed H.M. Consul at New York. He served as Commercial Attaché in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

before being appointed as Royal Commissioner for the International Exhibitions at

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

in 1910, and at Rome and

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

in 1911. In the 1920s he served successively as Britain's ambassador to

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

, Costa Rica and, in 1924, to

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Personal life

He married Winifred May (née Youell) in 1896 in Galatz, Romania.''Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage'', Dean & Son, London, 1920, p. 1226. They had one daughter, Iris, who was born in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

in 1900. They divorced in 1927.Divorce Court File: 6244. At: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C8049505 In 1912, he was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Andrew Percy 1866 births 1943 deaths People educated at Eltham College Nelson College faculty Nelson cricketers Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Panama Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Venezuela Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George People from Fulbourn English cricketers Cricketers from Cambridgeshire