Born and died in Hastings. His father was Henry Edward Bennett, a pork butcher in George Street, and when he died William Henry took over the business at an early age. He remained in this profession throughout his working life.
Horace Donisthorpe, writing Bennett's obituary in Entromologist's Rec.J.Var., 43, 1931, 92 noted: ‘he was a very good all-round naturalist, not only as an entomologist - specialising in Coleoptera - but also as an ornithologist, etc.. He had a wonderful genius for field work, and we well remember collecting with him in the early 90s s and also later... Every entomologist who visited Hastings always went to see Bennett to secure his help and advice’.
Bennett's first article added Lebia turcica P. to the British list (Ent.mon.Mag., 20, 1884, 8) and subsequently he went on to add Ochthebius lejolisi Muls. (found in rock pools at Ilfracombe) and Anthonomus rufus Schon.. Ilyobates bennetti, found with ants in Bexhill High Wood in 1907, was named after him by Donisthorpe in 1914. Bennett also compiled A New Exchange List of British Coleoptera (nd) as is confirmed in a note by N.F. McMillan pasted into the copy in the RESL library which records that J.R.le B.Tomlin had given him the following information on 22 April 1942: ‘Also a Coleoptera List published here [Hastings] many years ago by Bennett, a local butcher, who was very keen and who I often went out with. Now that he is dead and his list is scarce I am being asked about it and have recently had several requests for a copy. When he died I overhauled his books etc. at his widow’s request and there were a lot of these lists left which we mostly destroyed’ (I am grateful to Eric Gowing-Scopes for this information).
Bennett’s collection, housed in a twenty drawer cabinet, was given to Hastings Museum by the Hastings and St. Leonards Museum Association which purchased it from Bennett, in 1913. There are also beetles collected by him in the R. Wilding collection in Liverpool Museum.
FRES 1897-1909. (MD 10/01)