Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Sir Nigel Stuart Henderson, (1 August 1909 – 2 August 1993) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 1968 to 1971.

Naval career

Henderson joined the Royal Navy in 1927.Sir Nigel Stuart Henderson
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives He served in the Second World War as a gunnery officer. After the war he became Naval Attaché in Rome and then, from 1951, commanded the patrol vessel . Henderson was appointed Commanding Officer at the Royal Naval Air Station at Bramcote in 1952 and was Captain of the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

from 1955. He became Vice Naval Deputy and then Naval Deputy to the

Supreme Allied Commander Europe The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander is ...

in 1957 and Director General of Training at the Admiralty in 1960. In 1962 he was made Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth. He was made Head of the British Defence Staff in Washington, D.C. and UK Military Representative to NATO in 1965 and then Chairman of the NATO Military Committee in 1968. He retired in 1971. Writing in 1974 Henderson expressed concern over a general lack of awareness about "Western Europe and indeed of all NATO countries being dependent very largely on Middle East oil".

Personal life

Henderson married Catherine Mary Maitland in 1939. They had three children, a son and two daughters. In 1959 Lady Henderson inherited the estate of Hensol House near Castle Douglas from her godmother Helen, Marchioness of Ailsa. The couple retired there in 1971. In retirement Henderson spearheaded the effort to restore the Scottish birthplace of John Paul Jones at Arbigland back to its original 1747 condition. He was also a Deputy Lieutenant of the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright and a Patron of the Ten Tors Challenge held each year on Dartmoor.Ten Tors
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References

, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Nigel 1909 births 1993 deaths Deputy Lieutenants of Kirkcudbright Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire NATO military personnel Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy officers of World War II British naval attachés