Papers relating to his published work, including albums of articles, reviews of his work, correspondence, photographs and copies of his publications.

Albums, mostly undated, containing articles contributed by Bennett to various journals, reviews, material relating to Bennett's radio broadcasts, circa 1929-1975.
Copy of Royal United Service Institution Gold Medal Essay, 1934, by Bennett, on '..the minimum size of the capital ship demanded by modern conditions of warfare', published in 1935.
Photographs, mostly naval vessels and personalities, and aircraft.
Typescript of a three-act comedy by Bennett, entitled, 'The Silent Service', circa 1952.
Photograph of Bennett as the newly-appointed City Marshal, February 1958.
Copies of articles by Bennett for Ian Allan's 'History of Ships' and correspondence relating thereto, 1973-1974.
Correspondence relating to a publication by Bennett covering the career of Admiral Walter Cowan, 1962, 1963, 1966, with several photographs.
Correspondence relating to Bennett's contribution of two articles to a work on the history of the First World War edited by Amsterdam Boek bv, 1974-1975.
Papers mainly related to publications by Bennett, including several typescripts of works intended for publication, 1974-1976.
Copies of Bennett's published works including histories and children's fiction: 18 titles.

Related Material MSS/85/098. Please contact archive staff for more information about ordering from this collection.

Administrative / biographical background
Bennett was the son of Rear-Admiral Martin Gilbert Bennett, coming from a long established naval tradition, it was natural that he would enter the navy. He entered Dartmouth Training College age 13 and became midshipman in 1926. He specialised in signals becoming the Assistant Fleet Wireless Officer in the Mediterranean during the Abyssinian crisis. Between 1938 and 1940 he was appoint flag lieutenant of the Second Cruiser Squadron, which acted acted as the escort for the visit of King George VI to the USA and Canada in 1939. During World War II he took part in the Norwegian campaign and in the evacuation of Dunkirk and also evacuations from French ports further south. Between 1940 and 1942 he was appointed fleet signal officer, South Atlantic Station and in 1943 was signals officer to the Force H operating out of Gibraltar. He was present at the allied landings at Sicily and Salerno and was awarded the DSC for his involvement in these operations. He was appointed executive officer of the AJAX between 1947 and 1948. He was largely responsible for organising the visit of the Home Fleet to Leningrad in 1955. Bennett retired from the navy in 1958. He also authored naval 'seafaring thrillers' under the nom de plume 'Sea lion.' His works include the titles 'Phantom Fleet' (1946), 'Sink Me The Ship' (1947), 'Cargo For Crooks' (1948). His Desmond Drake series was popular and he wrote stories for children and scripts for radio. Bennett was also a war historian publishing 'Coronel and the Falklands' (1962), 'Battle of Jutland' (1964), 'Battle of the River Plate' (1972) and 'Battle of Trafalgar' (1977) amongst others. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1963.