John Seymour Benson was born at Riverside, Middleton St. George, and was educated in Hemel Hempstead and Leyton Park before attending Chillon College, Villeneuve, Switzerland during 1928-30. Benson studied Geology at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, during 1930-33, where he was an avid rower, and coached the college boat. In 1933, Benson participated in the Oxford University Expedition to the Arctic as Assistant Geologist-Surveyor. In 1934 he attended the School of Mines, Camborne, before accepting employment with East African Concessions prospecting for gold in Kenya. In 1938 he began working for Gold Coast [Ghana] Selection Trust. After his return to Britain and the outbreak of the Second World War, Benson served as an Early Defence Local Volunteer. In May 1941 he was called up and joined the Royal Engineers, being posted to India in 1943. In 1947, Benson went to work for London and African Mining Trust in Nigeria. In 1950 he joined Consolidated African Selection Trust in the Gold Coast, working in the diamond industry. In 1965, he was appointed Senior Geologist, Geological Survey Department, Ghana, and worked for a time for the State Diamond Corporation. Between 1968 and 1973, Benson worked as a mining consultant and technical assistance officer for the Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources in Ghana.