Capt. The Hon. Eric Brand Butler-Henderson (26 September 1884 – 18 December 1953) was the seventh child of

Alexander Henderson, 1st Baron Faringdon Alexander Henderson, 1st Baron Faringdon (28 September 1850 – 17 March 1934), known as Sir Alexander Henderson, 1st Baronet, from 1902 to 1916, was a British financier and Liberal Unionist Member of Parliament. Biography Henderson was the ...

, and the great-grandfather of

Vicki Vicky, Vicko, Vick, Vickie or Vicki is a feminine given name, often a hypocorism of Victoria. The feminine name Vicky in Greece comes from the name Vasiliki. Women * Family nickname of Victoria, Princess Royal (1840–1901), wife of German ...

(born 1972) and

Charlie Butler-Henderson Charles Butler-Henderson (born 23 November 1978) is a British auto racing driver who now works as a racing instructor and presenter. He is part of a family which has strong links with motorsport. His father was a karting champion, and his sister ...

. He was a soldier and company director, who was honoured when a steam locomotive was named after him.

Biography

Born Eric Brand Henderson on 26 September 1884 at

Norwood Green Norwood Green is a place in the London Borough of Ealing in London, England, that forms the southern part of Southall. It is a suburban development centred west of Charing Cross and ENE of Heathrow Airport. Its origin coincides with the 12th ...

in Middlesex, the son of

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

and Jane Henderson, his father was a stock broker. 1891 Census of Faringdon, RG12/107, Page 3, Eric Brand Henderson. Buscot Park, Buscot, Aged: 6 Where Born:Norwood Green, Middlesex. He was schooled at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

. He married Sophia Isabelle Butler Massey (known as Zoë) on 10 December 1910, and on 21 December 1910 used a

deed poll A deed poll (plural: deeds poll) is a legal document binding on a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an intention or create an obligation. It is a deed, and not a contract because it binds only one party (law), party. Et ...

to legally change his name to Eric Brand Butler-Henderson. They had six children: Lionel (born 1911); Patrick (born 1913); Mary (born 1915); Edward (born 1916); Doreen (born 1920); and Kenneth (born 1929). His eldest son Lionel Butler-Henderson raced cars for

Frazer Nash Frazer Nash was a brand of British sports car manufactured from 1922 first by Frazer Nash Limited founded by engineer Archibald Frazer-Nash. On its financial collapse in 1927 a new company, AFN Limited, was incorporated. Control of AFN passed t ...

in the 1930s; Lionel's second child Guy (born 1948) raced in the British

Karting Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...

team; and two of Guy's children,

(born 1972) and

Charlie Charlie may refer to: Characters * "Charlie," the head of the Townsend Agency', from the ''Charlie's Angels'' franchise * Charlie, a character on signs for the CharlieCard, a smart card issued by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority * ...

(born 1978), also became accomplished motor racing drivers. By 1926, Eric Butler-Henderson was living at Winwick Manor,

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

; in that year he was appointed one of the Sheriffs of Northamptonshire; in 1927 he was again appointed Sheriff for that county, and once again in 1928, but in 1929 was appointed

High Sheriff of Northamptonshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the respon ...

. Eric Butler-Henderson was appointed a Commander of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (C.St.J.) on 20 December 1937. He died in

Andover, Hampshire Andover ( ) is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the Test, and is situated alongside the major A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, west of the town of Basingsto ...

on 18 December 1953, aged 69.

Army career

He was appointed to the Berkshire

Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but su ...

(as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

) on 30 March 1908 and (when the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

was formed), transferred to the Berkshire (Hungerford) Yeomanry with a number of other officers on 1 April 1908, retaining his rank. He was promoted to temporary

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 9 April 1915, and achieved the rank of captain on 20 December 1915. As part of the

Mediterranean Expeditionary Force The Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF) was the part of the British Army during World War I that commanded all Allied forces at Gallipoli and Salonika. It was formed in March 1915, under the command of General Sir Ian Hamilton, at the beginn ...

he was reported as wounded in 1915. He transferred from the Yeomanry to the Territorial Force Reserve on 6 November 1917, as a captain. He relinquished his Territorial Army Reserve commission on 30 September 1921, retaining his rank of captain but not the right to wear the uniform.

Railways

In May 1918, Butler-Henderson was elected a Director of the

Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the ...

(GCR), where his father, Lord Faringdon, was chairman of the board. Like other GCR Directors of the period, he was accorded the honour of having one of the railway's latest express passenger locomotives named after him: no. 506, the first locomotive of

GCR Class 11F The Great Central Railway Class 11F or Improved Director Class is a class of 4-4-0 steam locomotive designed by John G. Robinson for passenger work. The LNER classified them as Class D11 from 1923. They were based on the earlier GCR Class ...

, was named ''Butler–Henderson'' when it entered service on 27 December 1919. Butler-Henderson was the last new Director of the GCR; at the start of 1923, the GCR amalgamated with several other railways to form the

London & North Eastern Railway London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

(LNER), and Butler-Henderson was one of four GCR nominees who became Directors of the LNER, his appointment being confirmed on 17 November 1922. He remained a director of the LNER until at least 1930. Locomotive no. 506 was also inherited by the LNER, and it latterly bore numbers 5506 (from June 1924), 2660 (from October 1946) and finally 62660 (from October 1949). It remained in service with the LNER and its successor,

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

ways, until October 1960. After it was withdrawn from service, it was selected for preservation, being restored during 1961. It is part of the

National Collection The UK National Collection is a collection of around 280 historic rolling stock, rail vehicles (predominantly of British origin). The majority of the collection is kept at four national museums: * National Railway Museum, York * National Railwa ...

, and is on loan to

Barrow Hill Engine Shed Barrow Hill Roundhouse, until 1948 known as Staveley Engine Shed, is a former Midland Railway roundhouse in Barrow Hill, near Staveley and Chesterfield, Derbyshire (), now serving as a railway heritage centre. History Staveley Roundhouse was ...

, where it is on static display. He was a director of Catalinas Warehouses and Mole Co. Ltd., resigning upon the appointment of liquidators on 27 October 1953.

References

External links

Hon. Sophia Zoe Isabelle Butler-Henderson (née Massey) (1888–1977)
at the National Portrait Gallery. Includes photos of daughters Mary and Doreen. {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler-Henderson, Eric Brand 1884 births 1953 deaths Commanders of the Order of St John Directors of the Great Central Railway High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire London and North Eastern Railway people People educated at Eton College People from West Northamptonshire District People from the London Borough of Ealing Berkshire Yeomanry officers Military personnel from Middlesex British Army personnel of World War I