Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

Sir David Henderson, (11 August 1862 – 17 August 1921) was the senior leader of British military aviation during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, having previously established himself as the leading authority on tactical intelligence in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

. He served as the commander of the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

in the field during the first year of the First World War and was instrumental in establishing the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

as an independent service. After the war Henderson was the first Director-General of the

League of Red Cross Societies The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is a worldwide humanitarian aid organization that reaches 160 million people each year through its 192-member National Societies. It acts before, during and after disast ...

Early and family life

David Henderson was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

on 11 August 1862 into a ship-owning family. His father, also called David Henderson, was a joint owner of the

Clydeside Greater Glasgow is an urban settlement in Scotland consisting of all localities which are physically attached to the city of Glasgow, forming with it a single contiguous urban area (or conurbation). It does not relate to municipal government ...

ship builders David and William Henderson and Company. Henderson entered the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

in 1877 at the age of just 15. While there, he read engineering and in his fourth year (1880–1881) he studied civil engineering and mechanics as well as office and field work in engineering. For reasons now unknown, he left the university to train for a military career at the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

, instead of graduating from Glasgow. In 1895, Henderson married Henrietta Caroline Dundas (11 December 1867 – 14 April 1959), who was appointed as a

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(DBE) in 1919. Their children included Ian Henry David Henderson, who also joined the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

, but Ian Henderson predeceased his parents, dying in a flying accident in June 1918.Prins, ''Aeroplane'' May 2012, p. 38.

Military career

Following officer training at the Royal Military College Sandhurst, Henderson was commissioned into the

on 25 August 1883, joining the

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 26 February 1890, and graduated from

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, whic ...

in 1895. Subsequently, he was a member of the Nile Expedition of 1898, following which he received a brevet promotion to the rank of

major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

on 16 November 1898. Three months before the outbreak of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the So ...

Henderson was posted to Natal as an intelligence officer. During the opening stage of the war he took part and was wounded at the

Siege of Ladysmith The siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 2 November 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal. Background As war with the Boer republics appeared likely in June 1899, the War Offic ...

. He received a brevet promotion to

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

on 29 November 1900. In February 1901, the commander-in-chief in South Africa, Lord Kitchener, appointed Henderson his director of military intelligence, a post he held until the end of the war in June 1902. In a despatch dated 23 June 1902, Kitchener wrote how Henderson had ''"invariable done his best to cope with the great difficulties of his position."'' For his service in the war, he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

(DSO) in the October 1902 South Africa Honours list. His subsequent works, ''Field Intelligence: Its Principles and Practice'' (1904) and ''The Art of Reconnaissance'' (1907), did much to establish his reputation as the Army's authority on tactical intelligence. In 1911, at the age of 49, Henderson learned to fly, making him the world's oldest pilot at that time. He formed part of the technical sub-committee of the

Air Committee The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

which helped to decide the organisation of the Royal Flying Corps, which was formed on 13 April 1912.Prins ''Aeroplane'' April 2012, p. 62.Raleigh 1922, pp. 198–199. In 1913 the control of military aviation was separated from the responsibilities of the Master-General of the Ordnance. A new Department of Military Aeronautics was established and Henderson was appointed the first director and, with the outbreak of the

, he took up command of the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

in the Field.Prins ''Aeroplane'' April 2012, p. 63. On 22 November 1914, Henderson was appointed General Officer Commanding the 1st Division and his

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

Frederick Sykes took up command in his stead. However, Henderson did not spend long commanding the 1st Infantry Division. The decision to post Henderson and replace him with Sykes was not to Lord Kitchener's liking, and he ordered a reversal of the appointments. On 20 December 1914, Henderson resumed command of the Royal Flying Corps in the Field and Sykes was once again his chief of staff.Prins ''Aeroplane'' May 2012, p. 36. In 1915 Henderson returned to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to resume his London-based duties as director-general of military aeronautics, which

Sefton Brancker Air Vice Marshal Sir William Sefton Brancker, (22 March 1877 – 5 October 1930) was a British pioneer in civil and military aviation and senior officer of the Royal Flying Corps and later Royal Air Force. He was killed in an airship crash in ...

had been performing in his absence. This meant that when, in 1917, General

Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Af ...

was writing his review of the British Air Services, Henderson was well placed to assist. While seconded to General Smuts, Henderson wrote much of what came to be called the Smuts Report. It has been argued that he had a better claim to the informal title "father of the

" than Sir

Hugh Trenchard Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, (3 February 1873 – 10 February 1956) was a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force. He has been described as the "Father of the ...

. Trenchard himself believed that Henderson deserved the accolade. He sat on the government's "

Advisory Committee for Aeronautics The Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (ACA) was a UK agency founded on 30 April 1909, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. In 1919 it was renamed the Aeronautical Research Committee, later becoming the Aeronautical ...

", located at the National Physical Laboratory, under the chairmanship of

Richard Glazebrook Sir Richard Tetley Glazebrook (18 September 1854 – 15 December 1935) was an English physicist. Education and early career Glazebrook was born in West Derby, Liverpool, Lancashire, the son of a surgeon. He was educated at Dulwich College unt ...

and presidency of John Strutt, Lord Rayleigh. In January 1918, Henderson was made a member of the

Air Council Air Council (or Air Force Council) was the governing body of the Royal Air Force until the merger of the Air Ministry with the other armed forces ministries to form the Ministry of Defence in 1964. It was succeeded by the Air Force Board. ...

, serving as its vice-president. However, having not been appointed as the RAF's Chief of the Air Staff, Henderson resigned from the Air Council in April, citing his desire to escape the atmosphere of intrigue at the Air Ministry. Following his departure from the Air Council, Henderson returned to France where he served until October 1918. After the armistice, Henderson served as a military counsellor during the Paris Peace Conference until the signing of the

Versailles Treaty The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 19 ...

in June 1919. Henderson then became Director-General of the

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

, where he died in 1921, aged 59.

Honours

Henderson was awarded the

in 1902 for his work during the

. In April 1914 he was created

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(KCB). In March 1918, Henderson accepted the honorary position of Colonel of the

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First and Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 to form the Royal Highland Fus ...

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography – Henderson, Sir David
(requires login)

* ttp://www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk/biography/?id=WH0213&type=P University of Glasgow – biographybr>thePeerage.com – Lt. Gen. Sir David Henderson
, - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, David 1862 births 1921 deaths Alumni of the University of Glasgow British Army personnel of the Mahdist War British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Royal Flying Corps officers British Army generals of World War I Royal Air Force generals of World War I Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Military personnel from Glasgow Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders officers Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Grand Officers of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) British Army lieutenant generals Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley