Osla Benning

Osla Benning in March 1939

Margaret Osla Benning (23 August 1921 – October 1974) was a Canadian debutante, who worked at Bletchley Park, was Prince Philip's first girlfriend, and later married John Henniker-Major, 8th Baron Henniker.

Early life

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

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 Louis Mountbatten, who mentioned to her friend (and fellow god-daughter) Sarah Baring that Prince Philip (Mountbatten's nephew) did not have a girlfriend, and Baring acted as matchmaker.[4] According to Baring, "It was obvious that he was Osla's boyfriend in a simple, nice way, so to speak".[4] "I do know that he was her first love," says her daughter, Janie Spring. "She never told me about him for years. She just said: 'I fell in love with a naval officer.’"[4]

Early in the war, she and her good friend Baring went to build Hurricane fighter planes at a Hawker Siddeley factory close to Slough, and shared a cottage nearby.[5]

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

Personal life

In 1946, she married John Henniker-Major, 8th Baron Henniker, and they had two sons and one daughter:[6]

  • 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), married Richard Spring, Baron Risby

Death

Benning died in Kensington,[2] London, in October 1974.[3]

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. 1 2 "Osla Benning". spartacus-educational.com. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "The romances of young Prince Philip". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Sarah Baring". 15 February 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2017 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  6. ↑ "Obituary: Lord Henniker | Politics". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
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