Desmond Charles Henley, OBE (1927,

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

, London – 11 November 2005,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

) was an English embalmer.

Career

After leaving school, Henley joined the London company of

funeral director A funeral director, also known as an undertaker or mortician (American English), is a professional who has licenses in funeral arranging and embalming (or preparation of the deceased) involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks o ...

s James H. Kenyon Ltd in 1941. Established in 1880, J. H. Kenyon Ltd were the undertakers to the Royal Household, and had in that role assisted in arranging the funerals of many members of the

Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

. After training in all theoretical and practical aspects of embalming, Henley passed his professional examinations in 1948. Four years later he was appointed the company's chief embalmer. In 1961, Henley became an examiner of the British Institute of Embalmers. He also taught embalming techniques, embalming fluid formulas as well as

disaster management Emergency management (also Disaster management) is a science and a system charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actua ...

to funeral directors. In an interview published in 1998, Henley expressed doubts that the

mummification A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

's body in Moscow was indeed as permanent as claimed by the Russian authorities.

Notable cases

In his role as chief embalmer for J. H. Kenyon Ltd, Henley carried out the embalming of

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

Sandringham House Sandringham House is a country house in the parish of Sandringham, Norfolk, England. It is one of the royal residences of Charles III, whose grandfather, George VI, and great-grandfather, George V, both died there. The house stands in a est ...

in 1952, that of Queen Mary at

Marlborough House Marlborough House, a Grade I listed mansion on The Mall in St James's, City of Westminster, London, is the headquarters of the Commonwealth of Nations and the seat of the Commonwealth Secretariat. It is adjacent to St James's Palace. The ...

in 1953, and that of

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

at the latter's London home at 28 Hyde Park Gate in 1965. Churchill's body was embalmed in the same room where he had died on the morning of 24 January 1965, a Sunday. When the process was completed, the remains were dressed in his silk pyjamas and dressing robe and placed back into his bed. Churchill would lie in repose in private at his Hyde Park Gate home until 9:00 pm Tuesday evening when Kenyon's staff transported his remains to

Westminster Hall Westminster Hall is a medieval great hall which is part of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. It was erected in 1097 for William II (William Rufus), at which point it was the largest hall in Europe. The building has had various functio ...

lie in state Lying in state is the tradition in which the body of a deceased official, such as a head of state, is placed in a state building, either outside or inside a coffin, to allow the public to pay their respects. It traditionally takes place in a m ...

and for the funeral at St Paul's Cathedral. Four years later, Henley embalmed the remains of

Mutesa II of Buganda Sir Edward Frederick William David Walugembe Mutebi Luwangula Mutesa II (19 November 1924 – 21 November 1969) was a Ugandan royal and statesman who served as the first president of Uganda from 1962 to 1966, when he was overthrown by Milton O ...

; and when

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 30 May 192816 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until Uganda–Tanzania War, his overthrow in 1979. He ruled as a Military dictatorship, ...

had Mutesa II's body returned from London to Uganda in 1971, Henley was requested to accompany it. In 1973,

Aristotle Onassis Aristotle Socrates Onassis (, ; , ; 20 January 1906 – 15 March 1975) was a Greek and Argentine business magnate. He amassed the world's largest privately-owned shipping fleet and was one of the world's richest and most famous men. He was marri ...

had Henley flown to Athens in his private jet to embalm the body of his son,

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

. Henley also oversaw the embalming of

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

in 1969,

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

in 1970, Field Marshal Lord Montgomery in 1976, Admiral of the Fleet Lord Mountbatten of Burma in 1979,

Bon Scott Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott (9 July 1946 – 19 February 1980) was an Australian singer who was the second lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980. In the July 2004 issue of ''Classic Rock (m ...

in 1980, and

Billy Fury Ronald Wycherley (17 April 1940 – 28 January 1983), better known by his stage name Billy Fury, was an English musician. An early star of rock and roll, he spent 332 weeks on the UK singles chart. His hit singles include " Wondrous Place", " H ...

in 1983. In the time between 1963 and 1976, Henley also worked extensively in

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

and

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

, and continued to advise royal families worldwide until his retirement from J. H. Kenyon Ltd in 1992, after 51 years of service.

Disaster management

After training in disaster management, Henley also served as head of J. H. Kenyon Ltd's emergency services mortuary team. In this role he was involved in the recovery and

repatriation Repatriation is the return of a thing or person to its or their country of origin, respectively. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as the return of mi ...

of bodies after numerous disasters, including the Kano air disaster in Nigeria in 1973, the Zeebrugge ferry disaster in 1987 and the Lockerbie bombing in 1988. It was for this work at major disasters around the world that Henley was appointed an

Officer 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 ...

"''for services in the aftermath of disasters involving the loss of human life''" in the 1997 New Year Honours.

Retirement and death

In retirement he lived in London and Portsmouth. His funeral was held on 23 November 2005 at St. Wilfrid's Church, Portsmouth, followed by cremation at

Portchester Portchester is a village in the borough of Fareham in Hampshire, England. It is northwest of Portsmouth and around 18 miles east of Southampton on the A27 road. Its population according to the 2011 United Kingdom census was 17,789. Name Portc ...

Crematorium.

Honours

* 1972:

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

* 1987: Fellow of the British Institute of Embalmers * 1997:

(OBE)

References

External links

Ian Harvey: ''The Macabre Connection Between Jimi Hendrix, Judy Garland and Winston Churchill'' (2018, online)

Desmond Henley: A Great Embalmer

How Mutesa’s body was returned from London for burial

Desmond Henley receiving the OBE in 1997
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henley, Desmond 1927 births 2005 deaths Embalmers Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Marylebone People from Portsmouth