Gale Benson
Encyclopedia
Gale Ann Benson was a British
model
, socialite
and daughter of Conservative
MP
Leonard Plugge. She was buried alive
and murdered in Trinidad
by local men including Black Power
activist Michael X
.
Benson was born in London
to Leonard and Ann Plugge. She had two brothers, Leonard Frank (born 1937), and Greville, her twin. She went to school at the Lycée Français in London. Later she started modelling, and worked as a DJ for a French radio show.
She married film director Jonathan Benson at age 20, but the marriage had difficulties and she moved away to Argentina
when she was 22, in 1967. Returning to the United Kingdom she started a relationship with Black Power activist Hakim Jamal
, an associate of Michael X. Jamal was an American from Boston
whose real name was Alan Donaldson. She changed her name to "Hale Kimga", an anagram of her first name and Hakim.
Benson and Jamal moved to Guyana
in 1971, before moving later that year to the commune of Michael X in Trinidad, who had fled the UK while bailed on charges of extortion and robbery.
On the morning of 2 January 1972 a group of men including Michael X
took Benson out for a walk outside the commune. Arriving at a hole in the ground they started digging until it was about four feet deep. One of the men turned to Benson and asked, "What do you think this is for?" She shrugged, and the man replied, "This is a fresh hole for decomposed bodies
". They pushed her in, two of the men attacking her with a cutlass
, badly wounding Benson in the chest and throat. She was buried alive, some of the men jumping on the soil to keep her down until she succumbed. The autopsy later found inhaled dirt in her lungs.
Her badly decomposed
body was found seven weeks later, and eventually two of the men were convicted of her murder, after one of the group turned witness for the prosecution. Stanley Abbott and Edward Chadee were sentenced to death, but one was commuted to life imprisonment. Another of the group drowned at sea, and barber Joseph Skerritt was murdered. Michael X was charged with Benson's murder but never tried; he was sentenced to death for the murder of Skerritt on 21 August 1972, and hanged in Port of Spain
's Royal Gaol in May 1975.
(2008), claims Michael X was in possession of indecent photographs of Princess Margaret
stored in a bank vault, and was using them to blackmail the British establishment. Hattie Morahan
plays Benson, who the movie portrays as a spy whose role is to find any additional photos or negatives Michael X may have. Her brother Frank, however, said the idea Benson was a spy in real life was "ludicrous".
Benson is a central character in Diana Athill
's memoir of her friendship with Gale's lover, Hakim Jamal, Make Believe: A True Story.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
, socialite
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
and daughter of Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Leonard Plugge. She was buried alive
Premature burial
Premature burial, also known as live burial, burial alive, or vivisepulture, means to be buried while still alive. Animals or humans may be buried alive accidentally or intentionally...
and murdered in Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
by local men including Black Power
Black Power
Black Power is a political slogan and a name for various associated ideologies. It is used in the movement among people of Black African descent throughout the world, though primarily by African Americans in the United States...
activist Michael X
Michael X
Michael X , born Michael de Freitas in Trinidad and Tobago to a Portuguese father and a Bajan-born mother, was a self-styled black revolutionary and civil rights activist in 1960s London. He was also known as Michael Abdul Malik and Abdul Malik...
.
Benson was born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to Leonard and Ann Plugge. She had two brothers, Leonard Frank (born 1937), and Greville, her twin. She went to school at the Lycée Français in London. Later she started modelling, and worked as a DJ for a French radio show.
She married film director Jonathan Benson at age 20, but the marriage had difficulties and she moved away to Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
when she was 22, in 1967. Returning to the United Kingdom she started a relationship with Black Power activist Hakim Jamal
Hakim Jamal
Hakim Abdullah Jamal was the name adopted by African-American activist Allen Donaldson, who was a cousin of Malcolm X and later became an associate of Michael X. Jamal wrote From the Dead Level, a memoir of his life and memories of Malcolm X. He was romantically involved with several high profile...
, an associate of Michael X. Jamal was an American from Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
whose real name was Alan Donaldson. She changed her name to "Hale Kimga", an anagram of her first name and Hakim.
Benson and Jamal moved to Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
in 1971, before moving later that year to the commune of Michael X in Trinidad, who had fled the UK while bailed on charges of extortion and robbery.
On the morning of 2 January 1972 a group of men including Michael X
Michael X
Michael X , born Michael de Freitas in Trinidad and Tobago to a Portuguese father and a Bajan-born mother, was a self-styled black revolutionary and civil rights activist in 1960s London. He was also known as Michael Abdul Malik and Abdul Malik...
took Benson out for a walk outside the commune. Arriving at a hole in the ground they started digging until it was about four feet deep. One of the men turned to Benson and asked, "What do you think this is for?" She shrugged, and the man replied, "This is a fresh hole for decomposed bodies
Bodies
Bodies may refer to:* The plural of body* Bodies , BBC television program* "Bodies" , 2003 episode of Law & Order* BODIES.....
". They pushed her in, two of the men attacking her with a cutlass
Cutlass
A cutlass is a short, broad sabre or slashing sword, with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge, and a hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket shaped guard...
, badly wounding Benson in the chest and throat. She was buried alive, some of the men jumping on the soil to keep her down until she succumbed. The autopsy later found inhaled dirt in her lungs.
Her badly decomposed
Decomposition
Decomposition is the process by which organic material is broken down into simpler forms of matter. The process is essential for recycling the finite matter that occupies physical space in the biome. Bodies of living organisms begin to decompose shortly after death...
body was found seven weeks later, and eventually two of the men were convicted of her murder, after one of the group turned witness for the prosecution. Stanley Abbott and Edward Chadee were sentenced to death, but one was commuted to life imprisonment. Another of the group drowned at sea, and barber Joseph Skerritt was murdered. Michael X was charged with Benson's murder but never tried; he was sentenced to death for the murder of Skerritt on 21 August 1972, and hanged in Port of Spain
Port of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
's Royal Gaol in May 1975.
Cultural references
The movie The Bank JobThe Bank Job
The Bank Job is a 2008 British crime film written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, directed by Roger Donaldson, and starring Jason Statham, based on the 1971 Baker Street robbery in central London, from which the money and valuables stolen were never recovered...
(2008), claims Michael X was in possession of indecent photographs of Princess Margaret
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon was the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II and the younger daughter of King George VI....
stored in a bank vault, and was using them to blackmail the British establishment. Hattie Morahan
Hattie Morahan
Harriet Jane Morahan is an award-winning English television, film, and stage actress.-Background:Hattie Morahan is the youngest daughter of television and film director Christopher Morahan and actress Anna Carteret...
plays Benson, who the movie portrays as a spy whose role is to find any additional photos or negatives Michael X may have. Her brother Frank, however, said the idea Benson was a spy in real life was "ludicrous".
Benson is a central character in Diana Athill
Diana Athill
Diana Athill OBE is a British literary editor, novelist and memoirist who worked with some of the most important writers of the 20th century.-Life and writings:...
's memoir of her friendship with Gale's lover, Hakim Jamal, Make Believe: A True Story.