Sir Brodie Haldane Henderson,

KCMG KCMG may refer to * KC Motorgroup, based in Hong Kong, China * Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, British honour * KCMG-LP, radio station in New Mexico, USA * KCMG, callsign 1997-2001 of Los Angeles radio station KKLQ (FM) ...

, CB (6 March 1869 – 28 September 1936) was a British civil engineer.Dictionary of National Biography entry
/ref> Henderson was primarily a railway engineer who worked for many railroad corporations across

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

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and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. He was the consultant for the

Dona Ana Bridge The Dona Ana Bridge spans the lower Zambezi River between the towns of Vila de Sena and Mutarara in Mozambique, effectively linking the two halves of the country. It was originally constructed as a railway bridge to link Malawi and the Moatize c ...

which, when it was built in 1935, was the longest railway bridge in the world with a length of . He volunteered for service with the Royal Engineers at the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was put in charge of railway lines used to tranposrt Allied troops and supplies. In this capacity he held the rank of a Brigadier-General of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and his success in this role resulted in him being decorated by the British, French and Belgian governments. After the war Henderson worked with the

Imperial War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

, as

High Sheriff of Hertfordshire The High Sheriff of Hertfordshire was an ancient Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the foundation of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisio ...

in 1924 and as president of the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...

. He was an important patron of John William Waterhouse, the

pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...

painter, and was the original owner of ''Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May''.

Early life and career

Henderson was born on 6 March 1869 in Ealing,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

to George and Eliza Henderson, his elder brother was Alexander Henderson the businessman and politician. His education was carried out in Germany, at

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(now Victoria University) and at King's College London. At the age of 16 he entered into a

pupillage A pupillage, in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan and Hong Kong, is the final, vocational stage of training for those wishing to become practising barristers. Pupillage is similar to an apprenticeship, during which bar ...

with locomotive manufacturers Beyer, Peacock & Company before transferring to James Livesey and Son, consulting civil engineers. Some of his early projects was as assistant engineer during construction of the Algeciras Gibraltar Railway and a secondment in the civil engineer's department of the

Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways. It was the third-largest railway system based in northern ...

Henderson became a partner in the firm on 6 October 1891 and it was subsequently named Livesey, Son and Henderson. He was named as senior partner in 1893. Henderson's work was largely concerned with railways, which were often financed by his brother Alexander. These included the Buenos Aires Great Southern, Central Argentine,

Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. After the Spanish American wars ...

and the Midland of Western Australia railways. Henderson was also responsible for the construction of new docks in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

and projects in Spain, China and Africa. Henderson's most famous project is the

over the

Zambezi River The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

in Mozambique for the

Beira Railroad Corporation The Beira Railroad Corporation, (''Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro da Beira'' in Portuguese) or CCFB, was a joint venture railway company that was responsible for operating the railway lines in central Mozambique. It was formed to reform the railway ...

, this bridge was built in 1935 and spanned a distance of by 33 separate arches. This bridge was the longest railway bridge in the world for many years. He was also responsible for the

Transandine Railway The Transandine Railway ( es, Ferrocarril Trasandino) was a combined rack ( Abt system) and adhesion railway which operated from Mendoza in Argentina, across the Andes mountain range via the Uspallata Pass, to Santa Rosa de Los Andes in Chi ...

which was tunnelled through the Andes Mountains between 1911 and 1925.

Military service

Henderson volunteered for a commission in the Hertfordshire Yeomanry after the outbreak of

and was commissioned as a temporary lieutenant on 12 October 1914. He subsequently transferred to the Royal Engineers and was made the deputy director-general of transportation in Belgium and France, being chiefly concerned with railway transport He was commissioned as a temporary lieutenant-colonel and was subsequently promoted to temporary brigadier-general. During his war service he was mentioned in dispatches on four occasions. In recognition of his war work Henderson was appointed a companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in the

New Years Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

of 1918. He was appointed a commander of the Belgian Order of the Crown on 11 March 1918. He was appointed a companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in the New Years Honours of 1919, an officer in the French

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

on 7 June 1919 and a knight commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in the

King's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are prese ...

of 1919.

Post-war work

After the war Henderson worked as an honorary consulting engineer to the

. He was also sheriff of Hertfordshire in 1922 and 1924 and

between in 1925.List of High Sheriffs
Henderson was appointed deputy lieutenant of Hertfordshire on 3 December 1926. Henderson was also a justice of the peace, a governor of the

Imperial College of Science and Technology Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

and a member of the delegacy of the

City and Guilds College The Faculty of Engineering is the engineering school of Imperial College London, and one of the three main faculties the college. It was formed in 2001 from the former City and Guilds College and the Royal School of Mines—two of the three o ...

. Henderson had a long association with the

, being elected an associate member in 1894 and a full member in 1899. He was a member of its council from 1915, vice-president in 1925 and was elected president for the 1928-9 session.

Personal life

Henderson became, through his brother Alexander, a patron of John William Waterhouse and owned several of his paintings. He was the original owner of ''Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May'', a 1909 painting by Waterhouse that was recently valued at CAD$4.8 million to $7.3 million.CBC news report on painting
/ref> He married Ella Jones in 1901 and fathered a daughter, Joan (who married, in 1941, Sir William Strang Steel of Philiphaugh 2nd Bt and died in 1992), and three sons, Gerald, Neil and Andrew. Neil and Andrew followed their father as partners in Livesey and Henderson, as did one of Alexander's sons Philip. Andrew Henderson and Harry Livesey left the partnership on 31 March 1932. By 1925 Henderson was living at Epping House in Little Berkhamstead. Brodie died at Upp Hall, Braughing on 28 September 1936 of lung cancer. He was cremated at

Golders Green Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in England. A smaller suburban linear settlement, near a farm and public grazing area green of medieval origins, dates to the early 19th century. Its bulk forms a late 19th century and ea ...

before being interred in the family grave at

Braughing Braughing is a village and civil parish, between the rivers Quin and Rib, in the non-metropolitan district of East Hertfordshire, part of the English county of Hertfordshire. Braughing gave its name to a county division in Hertfordshire, kn ...

. A memorial service was held at St Michael's Church in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Brodie 1869 births 1936 deaths People from Ealing Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers British civil engineers Alumni of King's College London High Sheriffs of Hertfordshire Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George