Benny’s mother was religious, but his father was agnostic. Benny attended cheder but lost interest in his religion at an early age, in part due to his involvement in left-wing politics. His family made him leave school for a job in a garage when he was 15. In the 1930s Benny became a member of the Young Communist League. He is famous for leading the mass trespass on Kinder Scout in 1932 when a reported 400 people protested the countryside being closed to ramblers.