While serving as a patron for Townsend Brown's experimental gravity work, Bonson holds the 1957 Chapel Hill Conference, the goal of which was to bring together the world's top theoretical physicists to understand gravity.
As Eric Weinstein and others have noted, the Chapel Hill Conference ends up sending academic theoretical physics into a complete dead-end cul-de-sac by establishing quantum gravity, which leads to string theory,
But perhaps the most fascinating clue to where the real vital off the books physics went is dropped by Eric Weinstein in a conversation he has with Joe Rogan about the Chapel Hill Conference.
In fact, I have the report from the 1957 Chapel Hill Conference. It's called The Role of Gravitation in Physics.
And remember, Townsend Brown was working with Bonson while the Chapel Hill Conference was being held.
It would also explain why you'd sponsor the 1957 Chapel Hill Conference.