Benjamin Donaldson was born in Gateshead, Durham, England, on 15 December 1889. It is not known where or with whom he trained as an architect. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1919. After working in Bristol, in c.1922 he moved to Newcastle-upon-Tyne where he was employed by the architect Leonard James Couves (1879-1951) subsequently becoming a partner in his practice, L. J. Couves & Partners. He remained a partner in the practice until at least the late 1930s.
A design for a bungalow by Donaldson was submitted in the Daily Mail Architects Competition for Labour-Saving Bungalows in 1922.
His address was given as 26 St. Paul's Road, Clifton, Bristol in 1920; c/o L. J. Couves., architect, Collingwood Buildings [and later Carliol House], Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1922 and 1939; and 2 The Croft, Corbridge, Northumberland in 1955. He died at The Dreadnought Hotel, Leny Road, Callander, Scotland on 17 September 1955
‘Obituary’. RIBA Journal vol. 68, 1956 p.428