228 Sportsmen Parsons in Peace and War 



This was followed by a letter from the Chaplain : 



" 36 C.C.S., B.E.F., France. 

 " 17 August, 1916. 

 " Dear Mrs. Benton, 



" It is with the deepest regret I write to let you know 

 that your dear husband, Capt. W. Benton, passed away about 

 2 o'clock this morning. I have been in close touch with him since 

 he was admitted here on the 6th, and he was always so grateful 

 for my ministrations. He received Holy Communion two or 

 three times, and I read and prayed with him almost every day. 

 I was with him till twelve o'clock last night, and he was then 

 sinking fast, and the night nurse tells me he passed peacefully 

 away about 2 a.m. During the first few days after being 

 admitted we had such pleasant conversations. He told me of 

 his ministerial work and his chaplaincy before he took a com- 

 bative commission. It is a comfort to know he died not only 

 a good and brave soldier of the King, but as a good soldier of the 

 King of Kings. 



" Please accept my sincere sympathy in your very sad loss, 

 and I pray God may comfort and sustain you. 



" Yours sincerely, 



" C. A. Adderley, C.F." 



And so this wonderful man, who had ministered to many, 

 was ministered unto, at the last, as he passed peacefully and I 

 feel sure happily away ; and can we doubt that if we could 

 render his welcome in the other world into language we can 

 understand, it will have been, " Well done, thou good and 

 faithful servant " ? 



In the last letter Captain Benton wrote to his wife after his 

 leg had been amputated he says : 



"... I got a smack on my right leg which broke it up a 

 bit and I had to have it amputated, as it got septic, as I was 

 left out and could not move to get in for a day or two. ... I 

 always thought if I got one on the right side it would be a 

 warm one. Love to all. Cheery oh ! . . ." 



Major Magnay writes again, dated August 25, 1916 : 

 "... I cannot tell you how deeply I sympathise with you 

 in your great loss. . . . He was so brave and cheery all through. 



