Sir Basil Lucas Quixano Henriques (17 October 1890 – 2 December 1961) was a British philanthropist of Portuguese Jewish origins, concentrating his work in the East End of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

during the first half of the 20th century.

Education

From a prominent

Sephardic Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

Jewish family, Henriques was educated at

Lockers Park School Lockers Park School is a day and boarding preparatory and pre-preparatory school for boys, situated in 23 acres of countryside in Boxmoor, Hertfordshire. Its headmaster is Gavin Taylor. History Lockers Park was founded in 1872 by Henry Monta ...

in Hertfordshire and

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England * Harrow, London, a town in London * Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) * ...

. He studied Modern History at

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

, and graduated with a third class honours in 1913.

First World War

Henriques served in the

Tank Corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other armou ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, taking part in the Battle of Flers where his tank, C22, was ordered to clear the Quadrilateral to the north east of Ginchy. During this operation his tank mistakenly engaged soldiers from The Norfolk Regiment, resulting in several fatalities.

Professional life

In addition to writing reforms to religious Jewish ceremonies, Henriques set up boys' clubs for deprived Jewish children. In 1914, Henriques founded the Oxford and St George's Club; this later developed into the Bernhard Baron St George's Jewish Settlement. The boys received education, vocational training, recreation and holidays in the country. From 1923 until 1950, he would frequently send deprived, sick or merely tired children to his country home, Southcote Cottage, at Southcote,

Linslade Linslade is an area in the civil parish of Leighton-Linslade, in the Central Bedfordshire unitary authority area of Bedfordshire, England. The original village was at Old Linslade on the banks of the River Ouzel. A new settlement called Linslade ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

for rest and recuperation. The cottage, in reality a large house, was loaned to him by his friend and fellow Jew

Anthony Gustav de Rothschild Anthony Gustav de Rothschild (26 June 1887 – 5 February 1961) was a British banker and member of the Rothschild family. Biography Born in London, England, he was the third and youngest of the three sons of Leopold de Rothschild (1845–1917 ...

, Southcourt being part of Rothschild’s Ascott Estate. In 1923 Henriques became a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

, and was named a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

1948 Birthday Honours The 1948 Birthday Honours were appointments by George VI, King George VI to Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the Commonwealth Realms. The appoint ...

. He was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

ed in 1955. He served as chairman of the East London Juvenile Court for 19 years, and served as a magistrate for 32 years. He retired from the Bench in 1956.

Legacy

The former Berner Street in

Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...

was renamed Henriques Street in his honour.

Controversies

NSPCC

During his time as a magistrate, Henriques criticised the work of the

NSPCC The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity founded as the Liverpool Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (LSPCC) by Thomas Agnew on 19 April 1883. The NSPCC lobbies t ...

on a number occasions. As part of his 1950 book ''The Indiscretions of a Magistrate,'' Henriques argued that legal supervision by a

probation officer A probation or parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probat ...

was more effective than voluntary supervision by an officer of the NSPCC.

Working mothers

In 1950, during the annual conference of the

Magistrates' Association The Magistrates' Association is the membership organisation for Magistrates of England and Wales, magistrates in England and Wales. By virtue of its education and training functions it is a charitable organisation and is funded by its members to ...

, Henriques spoke in favour of a motion which condemned 'women who go out to work and prefer the privileges of marriage to its responsibilities'. Henriques argued that

Women seem to think themselves rivals and equals to men in all things, but they are only superior in some things such as washing the baby and washing up. The proper place for the mother is in her home, and there is no greater cause of
juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior younger than the statutory age of majority. These acts would be considered crimes if the individuals committing them were older. The term ...
than when the relationship between mother and child has been cast away.

The motion was eventually defeated by 145 votes to 126.

Written work

Basil Henriques was the author of several books, mostly concerned with the care of youth, including: *(1933) ''Club Leadership''. *(1937) ''The Indiscretions of a Warden''. *(1945) ''What is Judaism''. *(1950) ''The Indiscretions of a Magistrate''. *(1951) ''Fratres: Club Boys in Uniform, an Anthology''. *(1955) ''The Home-menders: the Prevention of Unhappiness in Children''. In his role as a children's court magistrate, he also wrote the foreword to the

Enid Blyton Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have been tra ...

novel, '' The Six Bad Boys'' (1951), which relates the bad consequences of family breakdown for six boys, culminating in their appearing in a children's court for theft. Henriques, in his foreword, praises Blyton for her treatment of this subject, and stresses the negative effects of broken homes on children – one of the major themes of this novel.

Personal life

Henriques married Rose Loewe in 1916, and they worked together throughout their marriage. His sister was married to the well known angler Reginald Beddington, and their son was the artist and writer

Roy Beddington Roy Beddington (16 June 1910 – 31 May 1995) was a British painter, illustrator, fisherman, poet, writer on fishing, and journalist. As an artist he was known for his watercolours, with his first one-man shows being at Grafton and Walker's gall ...

Death

Henriques died on 2 December 1961, aged 71. In 1966, Rose, Lady Henriques published a

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

of her husband, entitled ''Years in

Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...

.''

References

External links

Oxford and St George Clubs
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Henriques, Basil 1890 births 1961 deaths Jewish British writers English people of Portuguese-Jewish descent Henriques family People educated at Harrow School Alumni of University College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War I Royal Tank Regiment officers English Sephardi Jews Burials at Golders Green Jewish Cemetery Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor 20th-century British philanthropists English people of Portuguese descent