Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Elers Delaval Henderson
VC (2 October 1878 – 25 January 1917) was a British recipient of the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
and
Commonwealth forces.
Early life
Henderson was educated at
Dunstable Grammar School
Dunstable Grammar School was a grammar school in the market town of Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England. Opened in 1888, it was closed in 1971.
The site is now home to residential flats and apartments.
Foundation
Dunstable Grammar School was esta ...
. He joined the
West India Regiment
The West India Regiments (WIR) were infantry units of the British Army recruited from and normally stationed in the British colonies of the Caribbean between 1795 and 1927. In 1888 the two West India Regiments then in existence were reduced t ...
as
Second lieutenant on 15 December 1900, and was seconded for service with the Northern Nigeria Regiment,
West African Frontier Force
The West African Frontier Force (WAFF) was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. In 1928, it received royal recognitio ...
. He was promoted to
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
on 10 February 1902.
Victoria cross action
He was 38 years old, and a
major and acting
lieutenant colonel in
The North Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's),
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 ...
, attached to The
Royal Warwickshire Regiment
The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer War ...
, commanding 9th Battalion during the
First World War
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 ...
.
On 25 January 1917 on the west bank of the
River Hai, near Kut,
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...
, he performed the deed for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.
He was buried in the Amara War Cemetery.
The Medal
His VC is on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the
Imperial War Museum, London.
See also
*
Robert Edwin Phillips.
References
Victoria Cross.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Edward Elers Delaval
1878 births
1917 deaths
North Staffordshire Regiment officers
British Army personnel of World War I
British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross
British military personnel killed in World War I
Military personnel from Shimla
British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross
Military personnel of British India
West India Regiment officers
British people in colonial India