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Sir David Henderson

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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"SIR DAVID HENDERSON (1862-1921), British general, was born on Aug. 11 1862. He served in the Nile Expedition of 1898, and in the defence of Ladysmith and the subsequent advance into the Transvaal 1899-1900. In the later phases of the S. African War he was chief of the Intelligence Department, and on its conclusion he was promoted brevet lieutenant-colonel and received the D.S.O. He afterwards held many staff appointments at home, was promoted colonel in 1905, and became director of military training in 1912. In the meantime he had taken up the study and practice of aviation, and in the following year he was appointed the first director of military aeronautics. On the outbreak of the World War he went to France in command of the Royal Flying Corps, while retaining the position of director at the War Office, and he was promoted major-general for distinguished service within a few weeks. But, finding it impossible to combine the duties, he gave up his command at the front early in 1915, and thenceforward devoted himself to the development and expansion of the military flying service. He was promoted lieutenant-general at the beginning of 1917, and at the end of that year he joined the Air Ministry on its creation, as chief of the general staff; but he resigned this position in the following April. In May 1919 he became director-general of the League of Red Cross Societies. He was created K.C.B. in 1914, and K.C.V.O. in 1919. He died at Geneva Aug. 17 1921.