Peter Benenson

Peter Benenson was born in London as Peter James Henry Solomon on 31st July 1921, the only son of British-born Harold Solomon and Russian-born Flora Benenson. He adopted his mother's maiden name later in life.

He enrolled for study at Balliol College, Oxford but the Second World War interrupted his education. He joined the Army Intelligence Corps and worked at Bletchley Park in the ‘Testery’ a research section tasked with breaking German teleprinter ciphers. Benenson worked as an Army Warrant Officer (RSM) under John Herivel in Block H in September 1945 when, with Captain Roy Jenkins (later a Chancellor of the Exchequer and Lord Jenkins of Hillhead) they both misappropriated Bletchley Park lunch sandwich tickets and were suitably reprimanded!

After demobilisation in 1946, Benenson began practicing as a barrister before joining the Labour Party. He went on to stand unsuccessfully for election at Streatham in 1950 and for the North Herts constituency until 1959. He was one of a group of British lawyers who founded JUSTICE in 1957, the UK-based human rights and law reform organisation. A few years later Benenson helped found Amnesty International in July 1961 and was initially appointed its General Secretary. He stood down in 1964 owing to ill health. He died of pneumonia on the 25th February 2005 at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, aged 83.