John Milne Henderson

Commander (retired) John Milne Henderson (18 August, 1887 – ) was an officer in the Royal Navy.

Life & Career

Born in London the son of A. M. Henderson, Esq., Henderson gained three months' time on passing out of Britannia.

Henderson was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 31 December, 1909.

On 22 August, 1910, he was appointed to Grasshopper. Almost immediately, he was made her first lieutenant and he was noted as contributing to good Gunlayer Test results in 1911. In January, 1913, however, he committed a gross error in landing duty-free goods in a scheme to obtain paint supplies for service purposes. It was only the fact that "a mistaken idea of duty" had inspired this "grossly irregular" choice that restricted his punishment to an expression of the Admiralty's severe displeasure. Having weathered this storm, his tenure in command of Grasshopper lasted until 16 September, 1913 when he was appointed Lieutenant in Command of the first-class torpedo boat T.B. 111.

War broke out while Henderson was in command of T.B. 111. On 26 November 1914, she ran aground while patrolling for submarines in narrow waters. It was determined that Henderson was taking his lunch at the moment of the grounding and he was informed that he should not have left the bridge under such circumstances. He was merely cautioned to be more careful in future.

On 21 September 1915, Henderson was appointed in command of the sweeping sloop Begonia. On 29 March, 1916, she was the target of a torpedo attack while zig-zagging at the leisurely rate of once every half hour. This attracted criticism, as did the fact that he had not conducted any full-charge firing exercises since arriving on station.

On 18 April, 1916, Henderson was appointed in command of the sweeping sloop Hydrangea. On 19 May, Henderson was criticised for having navigational charts that were uncorrected.

On 11 December, 1917 he was appointed in command of the destroyer Savage.

Henderson was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander on 31 December, 1917.

On 9 September, 1918, Henderson was appointed in command of the destroyer Lookout.

Post-War

On 18 December 1925, Henderson was appointed to Hawkins, additional, for duty with the Captain in Charge, Singapore. This work lasted just shy of one year, at which time he was placed

Henderson was appointed in command of Dart on 31 May 1927. This tenure lasted precisely two years.

Henderson was placed on the Retired List at his own request with the rank of Commander on 2 November, 1929.

World War II

Mobilised 28 September 1938 and made Naval Officer in Charge, Falmouth. Command of Forte was added to his responsibilities on 24 August, 1939 and he was given the acting rank of Captain while holding the appointment.

On 9 July, 1940, his station was reduced to that of Chief Staff Officer to Flag Officer in Charge, Falmouth. On 15 August, 1941 he was superseded. His service record is damaged beyond this point, but further work in Falmouth is indicated as Acting Captain until being placed on staff of the Flag Officer in Charge, Humber for Shipyard Liaison duties and as Assistant to Shipyard Controller on 15 April, 1942.

Henderson was reverted to the Retired List on 27 November, 1945.

See Also

• Service Records
• Wikipedia

Naval Appointments
Preceded by Philip D. Crofton	Captain of H.M. T.B. 111 16 Sep, 1913 – 21 Sep, 1915	Succeeded by Ernest A. Owens
Preceded by New Command	Captain of H.M.S. Begonia 21 Sep, 1915 – 18 Apr, 1916	Succeeded by Arthur G. Leslie
Preceded by New Command	Captain of H.M.S. Hydrangea 18 Apr, 1916 – 8 Nov, 1917	Succeeded by Colin E. M. Law
Preceded by Charles F. Bush	Captain of H.M.S. Savage 11 Dec, 1917 – 9 Sep, 1918	Succeeded by Herbert M. Ellis
Preceded by Maxwell A. C. Ritter	Captain of H.M.S. Lookout 9 Sep, 1918 – 20 Feb, 1919	Succeeded by ?
Preceded by Cecil F. J. Hammet	Captain of H.M.S. Nicator 20 Feb, 1919 – 7 Jul, 1919	Succeeded by Robert W. Richardson
Preceded by Sidney Hall	Captain of H.M.S. Teal 7 Jul, 1919 – Jan, 1921	Succeeded by Julian Harrison
Preceded by George N. Gilbertson	Captain of H.M.S. Burslem 1 Dec, 1921 – 30 Nov, 1923	Succeeded by William V. H. Harris
Preceded by George N. Gilbertson	Captain of H.M.S. Yeovil 10 Jul, 1924 – 21 Aug, 1924	Succeeded by ?