Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
Sir Reginald Friend Hannam Henderson, (20 November 1846 – 12 July 1932) was a British
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
officer who was Captain Superintendent of
Sheerness Dockyard
Sheerness Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the Sheerness peninsula, at the mouth of the River Medway in Kent. It was opened in the 1660s and closed in 1960.
Location
In the Age of Sail, the Royal Navy would often establish shore ...
1899–1902,
Admiral Superintendent of Portsmouth Dockyard 1902–1905, and
Admiral Commanding, Coastguards and Reserves 1905–1909.
Family background
Henderson was born in the coastal village of
Worth in
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, the second of four sons born to John Henderson and Laura Catherine (née Hannam). His three brothers also served in the Navy;
William Hannam Henderson (1845–1931) became an Admiral, Frank Hannam Henderson (1850–1918) a Vice-Admiral, and John Hannam Henderson retired as a
commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...
.
John's son Sir
Reginald G. H. Henderson also became an Admiral.
Naval career
Henderson joined the Royal Navy in the 1860s. He was appointed a Lieutenant in 1869, Commander in 1881. and Captain in 1887.
He was in command of the battleships
HMS ''Royal Sovereign'' from 1895 and
HMS ''Mars'' from 1897. In late June 1899 he was appointed
Captain Superintendent
The admiral-superintendent was the Royal Navy officer in command of a larger Naval Dockyard. Portsmouth, Devonport and Chatham all had admiral-superintendents, as did some other dockyards in the United Kingdom and abroad at certain times. The ad ...
of
Sheerness Dockyard
Sheerness Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the Sheerness peninsula, at the mouth of the River Medway in Kent. It was opened in the 1660s and closed in 1960.
Location
In the Age of Sail, the Royal Navy would often establish shore ...
, and served as such until August 1902. He was promoted to flag rank as
rear-admiral
Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral.
Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
on 15 June 1901, and on 1 September 1902 was appointed
Admiral Superintendent of
Portsmouth Dockyard
His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is loc ...
, flying his flag in
HMS ''Narcissus''.
He was appointed a Commander of the
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...
(CB) in the
1892 Birthday Honours, Knight Commander (KCB) of the order in the
1907 Birthday Honours
The 1907 Birthday Honours for the British Empire were announced on 28 June, to celebrate the birthday of Edward VII.
The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged by honour, with classes (K ...
list, and advanced to a Knight Grand Cross (GCB) of the order in the
1914 Birthday Honours list.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Reginald Friend Hannam
1846 births
1932 deaths
People from Dover District
Royal Navy admirals
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Military personnel from Kent
19th-century Royal Navy personnel
20th-century Royal Navy personnel