Major John Benjamin

John Benjamin was commissioned into the Royal Corps of Signals from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in July 1953. He was posted to the Canal Zone in May 1954, following his Subalterns' Part 1 Course at the School of Signals in Catterick and a Winter Warfare Course at the Norwegian School of Signals.

He served in 1st Infantry Division Signal Regiment, initially commanding B Troop (Rear Div HQ Wireless Troop) and then 1 Guards Brigade Signal Troop, before moving to Cyprus in January 1954 to command 40 Field Regiment Royal Artillery (40 Fld Regt RA) Signal Tp based in Famagusta. The outbreak of the Enosis/EOKA insurgency, shortly after his transfer, transformed life on the island. At this time Cyprus District comprised three infantry battalions (1 Royal Scots (Paphos), 2 Green Howards (Dhekalia), 2 R Innisk Fus (Famagusta)) and 40 Fld Regt RA, all of whom were rapidly committed to control internal security (IS)

In November 1955, he was posted to the newly formed Cyprus District Sig Regt as 2 i/c of No 2 Squadron, primarily responsible for Communications Security within Cyprus Dist.

The Tactical HQ of 16 Indep Parachute Brigade Group (Para Bde Tac HQ), commanded by Brig 'Tubby' Butler, and accompanied by 1 and 3 PARA arrived in Cyprus, in response to a rapidly deteriorating situation in the Middle East. Para Bde Tac HQ was established in Cyprus District Sig Regt's lines at Kykko Camp.

At the same time the EOKA insurgency increased its activities with attacks on British service personnel and bombings. In response, 16 Para Bde was tasked to IS operations initially in Nicosia and then against EOKA’s organisation in the Troodos Mountains.

Benjamin was tasked by his Commanding Officer to provide rear-link communications between Para Bde Tac HQ and the operational HQ in Nicosia. Part of this task was to neutralise the Forestry Commission telephone network used by EOKA as its primary communications system in advance of troops deploying on the ground.

On completion of his tour in May 1957 he served briefly with 3 Trg Regt, Royal Signals, in Lincoln. He successfully completed P Company in Aug 1957 followed by the Basic Parachute Course at No 1 Parachute Training School RAF Abingdon in Sep 1957.

He returned to the School of Signals to attend the Subalterns’ Part 2 Course between Nov 1957 and Nov 1958.

Benjamin was posted to 16 Indep Para Bde Sig Sqn in Barrosa Barracks Aldershot as 2i/c on completion of the course. The bde had recently returned from Jordan and was enjoying a relatively quiet time in the UK. The principal occupation was training: in the signal squadron the emphasis was on individual trade training and, of course, parachute continuation training with descents made from the balloon, Hastings and Beverley aircraft.  The sqn also relied on platform heavy drop to deliver its Land Rover and ½- ton trailers for 16 Para Bde HQ forward, and rear, links and the para bn rear-link detachments. This required a high degree of heavy drop rigging and de-rigging expertise.

The late summer of 1959 saw Exercise Bar Frost in the north of Norway. The aim was to test the capabilities of the Norwegian Army’s Brigade North to resist an attack by Warsaw Pact troops in the Norwegian/Russian border area. The mounting base was at Vaernes airfield near Trondheim where Benjamin spent the exercise having broken his leg parachuting during the summer! However this disappointment was somewhat mitigated by meeting one of his winter warfare course instructors who kept him well occupied when he was not on duty supervising Rear HQ radio communications.

He left the brigade in July 1960 on posting to 28 Sig Regt in Northern Army Group (NORTHAG), stationed in Krefeld in the Rhineland. The regiment's role, in conjunction with a German Army Signal Regiment, was to provide communications forward from HQ NORTHAG to the four Corps (1 BR, 1 BE, 1 GE and 1 NL) and rearwards to NATO HQ. The role was a far cry from serving in airborne forces. 

In 1963 he took Premature Voluntary Release (PVR) from the Army for family reasons and joined IBM as a trainee. Finally, he served in 44 (Home Counties) Inf Div Sig Regt (TA) from 1964 to 1966 as Officer Commanding No 1 Sqn.

John Benjamin is married; his interests include military history, cartography, photography, equestrian sports and database development. He has been a member of the ABF The Soldiers' Charity Bedfordshire committee since 1991 and was Secretary from 1992 to 2010. He is currently Honorary Librarian and Archivist for the Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden Aerodrome near Biggleswade in Bedfordshire, and a retired Deputy Lieutenant for the county.