Mary Benson (campaigner) Mary Benson (campaigner) Mary Benson (8 December 1919 – 19 June 2000) was a South African civil rights campaigner and author. Born in 1919 in Pretoria, Benson served in the South African Women's Army during World War II. After the war, she was secretary to film director David Lean. Benson became acquainted with the author Alan Paton, and read his novel "Cry, the beloved country" (1948), whose main theme was racial discrimination in South Africa. This affected her greatly, and she became a campaigner for the rights of black people there. She worked with Michael Scott (who, in 1946, was
Cry Slaughter! II. The novel narrates the story of guerrillas who were unwilling to surrender while awaiting the return of the armed forces of the United States. In addition, the novel features the tale about the girlfriend of a guerrilla lover. The woman chose to disobey the will of her pro-Japanese parents. The woman decided to join her lover in a hiding place in the hills. During the Japanese occupation period of the Philippines, the manuscript for E. K. Tiempo’s "Cry Slaughter!" was smuggled out of the country aboard a submarine. For the duration of World War II, the novel was suppressed