Major Sir Benn Jack Brunel Cohen

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

(5 October 1886 – 11 May 1965) was a British Conservative Party politician and campaigner on behalf of

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

people. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Liverpool Fairfield for 13 years, from 1918 to 1931.

Early life

Cohen was born in Toxteth Park,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, where his father, Louis Cohen, was a businessman and Conservative local politician. His family owned the

Lewis's Lewis's is an online retailer and homeware brand. It was also a chain of British department stores that operated from 1856 to 2010. The owners of Lewis's went into administration several times, including in 1991. The first store, which ope ...

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

s, which Cohen's father ran after the death of David Lewis. Both of his grandfathers were politicians in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. He was educated at

Cheltenham College Cheltenham College is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1841 as a Church of England foundation and is known for its outstanding linguis ...

, and then joined the family business. He married Vera Evelyn Samuel in 1914, becoming the son-in-law of

Sir Stuart Samuel, 1st Baronet Sir Stuart Montagu Samuel, 1st Baronet (24 October 1856 – 13 May 1926) was a British banker and Liberal politician who was Member of Parliament for Whitechapel. Samuel was the elder brother of Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel. He attended ...

. They had three children: two sons and a daughter.

War service

Cohen volunteered for military service in 1906, joining a

territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

battalion of the

King's Liverpool Regiment The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was one of the oldest line infantry regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 when a single battalion was raised as The Princess Anne of Denmark's Regiment of Foot. The original uniform consiste ...

. He served with the battalion after the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, but remained in the depot in Liverpool until 1917. Meanwhile, two elder brothers joined the Regiment on the Western Front in France, where one was killed in action and the second was gassed. At his own request, Cohen was sent to France in early 1917. He was promoted to Major in June 1917, but was wounded at the

Third Battle of Ypres The Third Battle of Ypres (; ; ), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele ( ), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies against the German Empire. The battle took place on the Western Front, from July to November 1917, f ...

, and both legs were amputated above the knee. He used an electric wheelchair for most of his life afterwards.

Political career

Cohen was elected as MP for Liverpool Fairfield in December 1918, and remained in office until he stood down at the 1931 general election. His

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

in February 1919 was on the needs of disabled former servicemen, and he devoted much of his time to advancing the cause of disabled people, particular the war wounded, including problems of employment, training and

war pension A war pension is a pension provided to a veteran of an armed conflict. They are almost certainly the most ancient type of social security. Plutarch's ''Life of Solon'' mentions a law which provides that those who are maimed in war shall be maint ...

s. He was involved in the discussions which led to the founding of the

British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British Charitable organization, charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants. ...

in 1921, and served as its honorary treasurer from 1921 to 1930, then as vice-chairman from 1930 to 1932, and again as honorary treasurer until 1946. He was effectively the parliamentary representative of the British Legion. He also served on the board of the

Poppy Factory The Poppy Factory is a factory in Richmond, London, England, where remembrance wreaths are made. It was founded in 1922 to offer employment opportunities to wounded soldiers returning from the First World War, creating remembrance poppies and ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, as a member of the council of St Dunstan's for 40 years, and as a governor of

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, together with Guy's Hospital, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospita ...

for 33 years. He advocated rapprochement after the First World War between the former enemy nations, and spoke at the first International Conference of the Fédération Interalliée des Anciens Combattants in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

in 1922. He visited Austria, Hungary, and

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

in the 1930s. Cohen served as an army welfare officer for the

Auxiliary Territorial Service The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS; often pronounced as an acronym) was the women's branch of the British Army during the World War II, Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existe ...

in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He chaired the

Ministry of Labour A ministry of labour ('' UK''), or labor ('' US''), also known as a department of labour, or labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, and s ...

's national advisory council on employment for disabled people, which spurred the passing of the

Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944 Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, d ...

, mandating employers to give jobs to disabled people. He became vice-chairman of Remploy in 1946, and its chairman in 1955. He was active in Jewish affairs, but was not a

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

. He was the founding president of the anti-Zionist Jewish Fellowship from 1944 until it was dissolved after the foundation of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in 1948. He was also a member of the council of

. He received a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1943, and was appointed a

in 1948. He published an autobiography, ''Count Your Blessings'', in 1956. He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in 1961 when he was surprised by

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ ...

. He died in London, with a memorial service at the

West London Synagogue The West London Synagogue, abbreviated WLS, and fully the West London Synagogue of British Jews () is a Reform Judaism, Reform Judaism, Jewish congregation and synagogue, located near Marble Arch, at 34 Upper Berkeley Street, in the City of Wes ...

References

* * *Niall Barr, 'Cohen, Sir (Benn) Jack Brunel (1886–1965)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 201
accessed 17 Oct 2011

External links

Portrait
National Portrait Gallery {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Jack 1886 births 1965 deaths People from Toxteth Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire King's Regiment (Liverpool) officers British Army personnel of World War I British politicians with disabilities Knights Bachelor Jewish British politicians