Chris Henry (born 1962) is a museum professional who was Director of Heritage at Surgeons' Hall Museums at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Early life and education

He was born in

Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to: Places * Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England ** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich * Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England ** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) * Gainsborough, Saskatchewan, Ca ...

, Lincolnshire, England and attended Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Gainsborough. He subsequently attended

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...

graduating BA (Hons) in History (1993),

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

graduating MA in War Studies (1994) and

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, graduating MA in Museum Studies (1999).

Career

Henry’s career path followed an initial interest in military museology as Curator of Artillery,

Royal Armouries The Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom's national collection of arms and armour. Once an important part of England's military organization, it became the United Kingdom's oldest museum, and one of the oldest museums in the world. It is als ...

Tower of London and Royal Armouries Fort Nelson (1994–99), Head of Collections, Museum of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (2000-2003), then Head of Collections, Museum of Naval Firepower, Gosport Hampshire (2003-2005) where he supervised delivery of Firepower

Royal Artillery Museum The Royal Artillery Museum, which was one of the world's oldest military museums, was first opened to the public in Woolwich in southeast London in 1820. It told the story of the development of artillery through the ages by way of a collection o ...

in Woolwich in 2005 . Moving to Scotland he was Director,

Museum of Scottish Lighthouses A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private collections that are used by researchers ...

, Fraserburgh before becoming Head of Collections, Dundee Industrial Heritage, covering

RRS Discovery RRS ''Discovery'' is a barque, barque-rigged steamship, auxiliary steamship built in Dundee, Scotland for Antarctic research. Launched in 1901, she was the last traditional wooden three-masted ship to be built in the United Kingdom. Her first m ...

and

Verdant Works Verdant Works, also known as Scotland's Jute Museum, is a former jute mill in the Blackness area of Dundee, Scotland. It was purchased in 1991 by the Dundee Heritage Trust. The trust restored the buildings, which were officially opened by Pr ...

. He was appointed Director of Heritage, Surgeons Hall Museum.

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The RCSEd has five faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical and healthcare specialities. Its main campus is locate ...

in 2010. Here he organised financing and delivery of the £4.5 million Lister Project which transformed the Museum layout and displays. This project was nominated for six different architectural and heritage awards and was Highly Commended in the RICS Awards for 2016. He retired from this post in 2023.

Exhibitions

Henry has curated and delivered over thirty exhibitions in his career, from smaller temporary exhibitions to the completion of the upgrading of the Surgeons’ Hall Museums complex.

Publications

His books and articles on museums and military subjects include: ''Museums within a museum'', in ''Medical Museums, Past Present and Future'', Alberti S Ed.,(2013) London, Royal College of Surgeons. ''Shield of Empire'' (1998), Leeds, Trustees of the Royal Armories. ''British Napoleonic Artillery 1793-1815: Field Artillery v. 1'' (New Vanguard) by Chris Henry and Brian Delf (16 Oct 2002) Oxford, Osprey Publishing. ''British Napoleonic Artillery 1793-1815: Siege and Coastal Artillery'' v. 2 by Chris Henry and Brian Delf (2003) Oxford, New Vanguard. ''Depth Charge: Royal Naval Mines, Depth Charges and Underwater Weapons 1914-1945,'' (2005) Barnsley, Pen and Sword. ''English Civil War Artillery 1642-51'' (2005), Oxford, New Vanguard. ''British Anti-tank Artillery 1939-45'' (2004), Oxford, New Vanguard. ''The 25-pounder Field Gun 1939-72'' (2002), Oxford, New Vanguard. ''The Ebro 1938: Death knell of the Republic–'' (1999), Oxford, Campaign. ''Napoleonic Naval Armaments 1792-1815'' (2004), Oxford, New Vanguard. ''Battle of the Coral Sea (Great Naval Battles)'' (2003), Washington, US Naval Institute Press.

Personal life

Chris Henry lives in Fife in Scotland with his wife Jane and daughter Charlotte.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Chris 1962 births People from Gainsborough, Lincolnshire Scottish curators Living people