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JOHN GODOLPHIN BENNETT
Biographical Timeline

1897. Born June 8, London; father - Basil Wilfred, adventurer and Reuter’s correspondent, mother - Annie Caroline née Craig, Pittsburgh, PA

1905 – 1915 Attended King’s College, Wimbledon on full scholarships till age 18.

1916: Royal Military Academy Woolwich, offered scholarships to Merton College, Oxford but posted to Arras France, Army Corps of Signals.

1918: Wounded in France, “out of body” experience, recuperates in Scotland, attends School of Oriental and African Studies to learn Turkish language. Recruited for British Military Intelligence.

1919, posted to Istanbul Turkey, promoted to head of Intelligence “B” Division. Twice “Mentioned in Dispatches”. Meets G.I. Gurdjieff, P.D. Ouspensky. Vision of “Eternity”

1921. Returns to London to brief PM Lloyd George. Meetings with Ouspensky in London. Returns to Turkey, leaves Army, appointed to pursue property claims of heirs of Turkish Sultan.

1923 Attends Conference of Lausanne, spends five weeks at the Prieuré, (Gurdjieff’s experimental institute near Paris.)

1925. Jailed in Athens, Greece on charges of illegal land claims. Acquitted after defending self successfully in Greek. On his release, begins to research coal mining in Macedonia. Returns to England.

1930. Greek coal venture fails, begins to work in British Coal Industry. Attends Ouspensky’s groups in Colet Gardens, Kensington. Begins to meet with own students.

1935. Appointed to head British Coal Utilisation Research Association (BCURA)

1940. BCURA use of Coombe Springs as research facility. Weekend work on Gurdjieff/Ouspensky “System”, later known as “the Work”. Begins writing “The Dramatic Universe”. Ouspensky proscribes Bennett as dissenter, quits England for US.

1946. Bennett founds Institute for the Comparative Study of History, Philosophy and Sciences, acquires ownership of Coombe Springs estate, Kingston-upon-Thames. Publishes “The Crisis in Human Affairs” about the System.

1947. After war ends, travels extensively in USA, to South Africa to meet Jan Smuts, explores possibility of founding Work community in Transvaal.

1948. Meets Gurdjieff again in Paris after interval of 25 years. Works intensively with Gurdjieff until G’s death, October 29, 1949.

1952. Dismissed from Coal industry position, after employee found to be member of Communist Party. Devotes himself full-time to writing, lecturing about the System. Regular meetings at Coombe Springs, which now has 50 permanent residents. The Institute now has 500 members.

1953. Travels in Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Iran, Iraq. Four months spent living as itinerant dervish.

1954 Second trip to Middle East to meet Sheikh Abdullah Daghestani, Emin Chikhou.

1956. Begins work on Djamichunatra – meeting hall at Coombe Springs.

1957. Arrival of Pak Subuh, Indonesian Moslem teacher, Bennett and many of his followers opened in Subud.

1958 Travels with Pak Subuh to USA, Australia, Far East, India as translator. Subud International Conference at Coombe Springs. Further travels to Canada, USA, Mexico, Europe. D.T. Suzuki visits Coombe Springs. Second trip to open Subud groups in Canada, New York and Mexico.

1961. Meets Shivapuri Baba, 135 year old Indian Holy Man living Katmandu, Nepal. Writes “Long Pilgrimage” about his life and teachings. First meeting with Hasan Shushud unorthodox Sufi teacher.

1962. Formally resigns as Subud helper. Becomes Catholic and joins Benedictine monastery as lay brother. Founds journal: “Systematics” to publish research papers from Institute.

1963. Meetings with Idries Shah, Afghan hereditary leader of three Sufi orders.

1966. Donates Coombe Springs estate to Idries Shah. Begins to work on educational research, as chairman of Structural Communication Systems Ltd.

1969. Extensive contact with Hasan Shushud, who exhorts him to teach the Work in his own right.

1970. Conceives idea of Fourth Way School.

1971. Opens first course at international Academy for Continuous Education at Sherborne House, Gloucestershire. 90 students attend first of five one-year Basic Courses.

1974. Concludes purchase of Claymont Court, West Virginia, USA for use as community and Fourth Way school. December 13th 1974, Bennett’s death