A life of service to country, industry and society
Obituary: Henry John Eldred Bentley, 9 March 1917 - 3 January 2007
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| Harry Bentley: The Construction Materials Group award presented by Iren Jasko |
Harry Bentley, as he was best known,
was born in Kilburn and brought
up in Wembley, London, UK. After
taking a degree in chemistry he
joined the Territorial Army and was
called up for service with the Royal
Army Medical Corps in World War
II, largely in the 8th Army Pathology
Laboratory in Egypt.
Following the war Bentley
joined Esso Petroleum, working
initially at Vauxhall, London, and
subsequently at the company’s
UK headquarters in Victoria Street
where he had responsibility for
technical services for bitumen
and wax products, including innovative
materials for highway
construction. In the immediate
post-war period Esso fielded good
teams in football, rugby and
cricket. Harry was more of an
organiser than player, and with
typical thoroughness kept immaculate
match records, especially
as cricket scorer. He was a
notable practical joker and a
popular member of staff.
Bentley took his technical responsibilities
seriously and very
much believed in the value of collegial
contacts and information
sharing and dissemination within
the wider scientific community.
He was elected a member of the
Society of Chemical Industry on
11 January 1957 and enthusiastically
supported the activities of
the then Road & Building Materials
Group, now the Construction
Materials Technical Interest Group. He was group
honorary secretary between 1967
and 1972 and then vice-chairman
(1972-1974) and chairman (1974-
1976). During his time in office he
was the instigator and organiser
of the group chairman’s medallion
of office. He continued as a committee
member up to the time of
his death.
Probably one of the best-remembered
aspects of Bentley’s
committee activities was his determination
that the minutes of
meetings would be correctly and
accurately recorded, especially
punctuation, including the final
full stop. Bentley and his late wife,
Mary, were regular attendees at
social and Christmas meetings of
the construction materials group
and he typically organised postmeeting
refreshments, very often
at the Pig and Whistle public
house [now the Grouse and Claret]
in Little Chester Street, within
easy walking distance of Belgrave
Square. For his exceptional and
sustained services to the SCI
group, he was presented with the
Construction Materials Group
award at the millennium meeting
on 27 January 2000.
Bentley’s wartime experiences
encouraged him to become a lifelong
and staunch supporter of the
Royal British Legion. He was a
distributor for the annual poppy
collection in the Chiswick area
where he lived and helped organise
the annual Remembrance
Day parade and other civic ceremonies
where his tact and good
humour helped to quell difficult
moments.
He was a long time and regular
member of the congregation of
the Methodist Church in Chiswick.
He leaves a son, John, and grandson,
Christopher.
John Figg
Construction Materials Technical Interest Group
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