The Honourable

Lady Henniker-Major
Benning in March 1939
Born
Margaret Osla Benning

(1921-08-23)23 August 1921
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died29 October 1974(1974-10-29) (aged 53)
Kensington, London, England
NationalityCanadian
Spouse
​
(m. 1946)​
Children3

Margaret Osla, Lady Henniker-Major (née Benning; 23 August 1921 – 29 October 1974) was a Canadian debutante, who worked at Bletchley Park, was Prince Philip's first girlfriend, and later married Sir John Henniker-Major (who became the 8th Baron Henniker after her death).

Early life

Osla Benning was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada,[1] on 23 August 1921,[2] the daughter of Edith Black and James William Benning,[3] and the goddaughter of Lord Louis Mountbatten.[4] She went to finishing school in Austria, and came out as a debutante in August 1939.[5][6]

World War II, Prince Philip and Bletchley Park

Hut 4, next to the mansion, used during the war for naval intelligence, now refurbished as a bar and restaurant for the museum

Benning went to stay with her godfather Lord Mountbatten, who mentioned to her friend (and fellow goddaughter) Sarah Baring that Prince Philip (Mountbatten's nephew) did not have a girlfriend and Baring acted as matchmaker.[5] According to Baring, "It was obvious that he was Osla's boyfriend in a simple, nice way, so to speak".[5] "I do know that he was her first love," says her daughter, Jane Spring. "She never told me about him for years. She just said: 'I fell in love with a naval officer'."[5]

Early in the war, she and Baring went to build Hurricane fighter planes at a Hawker Siddeley factory[6] close to Slough, and shared a cottage nearby.[7]

A few months later, by summer 1941, they were both tested on their German language skills and posted to Hut 4 at Bletchley Park, the naval section, as linguists.[5][6][7]

Kate Quinn’s 2021 novel about Bletchley Park, The Rose Code, features a character named Osla Kendall, who is based heavily on Osla Benning.

Personal life

She married John Henniker-Major (later 8th Baron Henniker) in 1946. They had two sons and one daughter:[8]

  • Mark Ian Philip Chandos Henniker-Major, 9th Baron Henniker (born 29 September 1947), married Lesley Antoinette Foskett
  • Hon. Charles John Giles Henniker-Major (2 September 1949 – 9 May 2012), married Sally Kemp Newby
  • Hon. Jane Elizabeth Henniker-Major (born 6 July 1954)

Her husband was knighted in the 1965 New Years Honours List and succeeded as the 8th Baron Henniker in 1980.[9]

Death

Benning died of cancer in Kensington,[2] London, on 29 October 1974,[4] at the age of 53.

References

  1. ↑ New York Passenger Lists. Family Search. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  2. 1 2 Margaret Osla Henniker-Major England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007. Family Search. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  3. ↑ "Ancestry® | Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History Records". www.ancestry.ca. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Osla Benning". spartacus-educational.com. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "The romances of young Prince Philip". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 Fox, Elyse; Kintz, Laura; Mantzaris, Nicola (29 March 2018). "Women's History Month: Celebrating Women from the Kennedy Family Collection Nitrate Negatives". The JFK Library Archives: An Inside Look. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  7. 1 2 "Sarah Baring". 15 February 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2017 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  8. ↑ Clark, Peter (4 May 2004). "Obituary: Lord Henniker | Politics". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  9. ↑ The Guardian, 'Lord Henniker obituary' (4 May 2004).
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