Sir Henry William Russell Bencraft JP (4 March 1858 — 25 December 1943) was an English first-class cricketer, sports administrator, medical doctor, businessman and philanthropist.

In his hometown of Southampton, Bencraft played a prominent role in business and civic life, holding appointments with a number of prominent businesses in the town, in addition to sitting on the town council and serving as a magistrate, which he managed alongside his medical career.

He was involved in philanthropy in Southampton, raising money for a number of causes and supporting disabled soldiers during the First World War.

[1] As a young child he grew fond of cricket by playing it in local fields,[2] often at the deanery of St Mary's Church.

[8] Three years later, with the club facing extinction, Bencraft took a prominent role in saving it in his capacity as secretary.

During this period, Bencraft ran the club virtually unassisted, holding the roles of captain, secretary and committee member.

[11] During an annual meeting held in the First World War, Bencraft encouraged the provision of schemes to help cricketers find work during the winter months, with him finding it wrong that fit and healthy men could not earn a wage outside the summer cricket season.

Described as a pioneer of association football in Southampton, he succeeded Canon Basil Wilberforce as president of Southampton St. Mary's F.C.,[3] with his connections helping them secure the use of the County Ground at Northlands Road, at an annual rental of £200, when the Antelope Ground was sold for re-development in 1896.

[15] The company named a collier Sir Russell in his honour; it was later sunk by enemy action during the Second World War.

He was chairman of The Hampshire Girls Orphanage, retaining the chairmanship until he relinquished it due to ill health toward the end of his life.

[3] Bencraft was knighted in the 1924 New Year Honours for services to medicine,[16] with a banquet held to celebrate his knighthood in February 1924.

[3] During the Second World War, his house, where he had lived since his birth on Winn Road, was destroyed in a Luftwaffe air raid.

Following the destruction of his home, Bencraft and his wife (who had been married since 1889)[3] moved to the village of Compton and Shawford near Winchester.

[3] Six months after having his left leg amputated above the knee, Bencraft died at Compton and Shawford on Christmas Day in 1943, aged 85;[17] his wife had predeceased him the previous year.