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John Benton's father was an army sergeant, and the father of John and Chris Benton, as well as their brother George, the eldest; and sister Charlotte, who was only a baby at the time of his death. (PROSE: Wartime).
Biography
John always thought that his father preferred Chris to him, as Chris was always given what John had to fight for. John's lingering desire to be like his father was what led him to a career with the military, although he never gained his father's approval.
Benton Sr. fought in World War II and while on embarkation leave in Bolton during 1944, he, his wife, John and Chris went for a picnic in the woods, while George stayed home to look after baby Charlotte. (PROSE: Wartime) Chris died in an accident that Benton Sr. blamed John for. Shortly afterwards, Benton Sr. was killed by a grenade in Normandy. According to John, he was blown into so many pieces that not enough was found of his body to give him a decent burial.
When John stopped to leave a flower at the grave of Chris on a mission for the army, he became trapped in a nightmare world where past and present were one, and experienced his past again — seeing the ghosts of his father, mother and brother, until he made peace with himself and was able to escape. (HOMEVID: Wartime)
Behind the scenes
- Benton Sr. is never referred to by a first name in either the home video or the novelisation.