Evening star., 1941-10-19
u. S.-Born Wife of British Aide
Here Escaped Nozis in France
Mrs. Rex Benson
Is Official of War
Relief Society
By JESSIE FAINT EVANS.

again not only as the wife OF her
! distinguished Soldier-banker-d -diplo-
mat husband but becaGse her pres
ence in this country was especially
requested by Robert Appleby, work
| ing chairman of the British War
Relief Society.
Because of her background as the
London representative of the So
ciety, she is laison agent between
Britain's needs and the American
organizations efforts. In this ca
pacity her advice and counsel are
sought constantly by the society's
officials.
Interviewed in the serenity of
historic old Georgetown house at
BOLT N street, which is serving
temporarily as an adjunct of the
British Embassy, it was difficult to
realize that Mrs. Benson, with Lady
Dorothy Beatty, had been an eye
witness to the collapse of France, in
addition to coming safely through
bombing of her London drawing
room.
Picture Shows Bomb Damage.
On the front drawing room wall
of the Georgetown home, which is
also serving as the residence of the
Bensons, there hangs a picture re-
Gently arrived from their London
house. 1t is mute reminder of that
bombing. One of the original paint
ings for Morning Flight" a VOL
ume by the English naturalist,
Peter Scott, its adroitly mended sur
face still shows the path of the ex-
ploding shell which damaged it.
This shell tore its way through the
ceiling of the Benson's home, jagged
the surface of the picture and buried
its nose amid shower of plaster in
an upholstered couch. Mrs. Ben
son and her husband, Gen. Raymond
Lee of the American Embassy staff,
and two other dinner guests, who
were in the room at the time. were
unharmed Mrs. Benson declared,
when the mess was cleared away,
We even ate our delayed dinner with
out discussing the incident"
Even more dramtic is Mrs. Ben
sons account of how she and Lady
Dorothy Beatty, widow of Britain's
sea hero of the World War. made
their way from France to England
when their canteen in the 5O-mile
square area south of the Marine was
bombed.
When the Benson's two young
sons and her l1-year-old daughter,
a daughter by former marriage,
had been evacuated to the country
and after her husband was off
again to France during the first
weeks of the war, Mrs. Benson cast
about for some definite way to
which she could be of assistance to
England.
With Lady Beatty, she was as
signed to hostel work in France for
an r. A. F. unit On her wrist she
still wears a bracelet with her iden-
tification disk.
Short Tenure.
They opened their little center
with its two mobile canteens May
II, 1910. BY the following Tuesday
they had closed it. and with other
refugees we're fleeing through
France under almost constant Ger
man bombing.
The first intimation of the COL
lapse of Belgium came when tagged
automobiles came chugging by,
jammed with passengers and their
possessions. The more wealthy were
hastily departing. The next day the
endless procession was one of loaded
farm carts. From then on it was
a mad fleeing scramble of people
on foot, mothers holding the hands
of weeping children, fathers trying
to trundle crippled children and
aged mothers in WheelbarroWs and
even in baby carriages hastily con-
verted into rude conveyances. BY
this time, the French had joined
the flight.
Not once" said Mrs. Benson, |
"did we see one French fighter !
plane trying to combat the German
bombing, although French troops !
were advancing to the front with /
out uniforms, but with good morale !
All along the way the French people
were crying, why do our defend
ing soldiers not come? Where are
they? Where are they? They should
be here to help us"
Mayors of the little French towns |
desperately tried to cope with |
emergencies for which they were
not in the least prepared. Only |
near the end of their flight did one
half-frenzied deny them shelter
with the cry, mo, no, you cannot .
stay. The English are bringing
bombs upon us. Wherever there are
refugees and English there are
bombings.
Helped Surgeons.
At an English base hospital near
Epernay Mrs. Benson and Lady |
Beatty held flashlights all night |
long while a staff of II operated on |
the wounded and with so orderlies
and 8 nurses attempted to care
for an appalling number Of cas-
ualties.
In sealed train they were evacu-
ated with this group to Chateau
Thierry under a constant rain OF
dive bombers, which somehow
missed them. At Chateau T-hierry,
they left the hospital train.
Beyond Chateau Thierry, an
elderly chateau gardener, the only
soul left in the place, gave them
permission to spend the night there.
At dawn when the bombing started
again they found more than 400
other people huddled together in its
great cellars.
Lady Beatty and Mrs. Benson
rolled up the sleeves of their dis
hevelled uniforms, Lady Beattys a
Red Cross one, Mrs. Benson's that
of the St. Johns Ambulance Corps, |
and organized the cooking of break
fast for the entire company. They |
OOt ppQS from the nests Of the hens |