Henry Roxby Benson (2 November 1818 – 23 January 1892) was a 19th-century British General.

Life

Benson was born

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

into a distinguished

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

family, the second son of merchant Thomas Starling Benson and his second wife, Elizabeth Meux, daughter of Richard Meux.

Richard Meux Benson Richard Meux Benson (6 July 1824 – 14 January 1915) was a priest in the Church of England and founder of the Society of St. John the Evangelist, the first religious order of monks in the Anglican Communion since the Reformation. He is commem ...

was his younger brother.''London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813–1917'' He attended

St. John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

. He was gazetted into the

17th Lancers The 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1759 and notable for its participation in the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. The regiment was amalgamated with the 21st Lanc ...

as a cornet on 31 January 1840 and rose steadily: lieutenant, 15 April 1842; captain, 27 June 1845 and major on 23 October 1854. He commanded the 17th Lancers in the Crimea from 14 January 1855, including at the Battle of the Tchernaya and the siege and fall of Sebastopol, and commanded the squadron of the Light Brigade in the night attack on the Russian outposts on 19 February 1855. For his service in the Crimea he received the

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

with clasp, the fifth class of the

Order of the Medjidie Order of the Medjidie ( ota, نشانِ مجیدی, August 29, 1852 – 1922) is a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The Order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the Order was awarded in fi ...

, and the Turkish medal. On 30 September 1856 he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel of the 17th. Subsequent service in India (where he commanded the 2nd Cavalry at

Malwa Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syno ...

) lead to further promotions, notably Colonel of the 7th Hussars. Appointed CB in 1861 he continued to rise until his final promotion to the rank of General twenty years later.

Family

Benson married in 1845 Mary Henrietta Wightman, second daughter of William Wightman the judge. Their son Henry Wightman Benson was also a distinguished officer. He was the third son, and like the second son William Denman, who was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

, and the fifth son Florance John, studied at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. Mary Henrietta's sister, Frances Lucy Wightman, married

Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the celebrated headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, lite ...

. The Arnold's daughter Eleanore Mary Caroline was married in 1889 to Armine Wodehouse, after her father's death, from a house taken by Benson in London.

Notes

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Henry Roxby 1818 births 1892 deaths Military personnel from Surrey 17th Lancers officers People from Glamorgan British Army generals Companions of the Order of the Bath British Army personnel of the Crimean War British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 7th Queen's Own Hussars officers Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 5th class Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge