Henry Edward Chaney OBE (5 August 1882 – 27 February 1919) was a British

sports shooter Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such as ...

. and inventor of the first practical

gun camera Gun cameras are cameras mounted on a gun, used to photograph or record from its perspective. They are typically used on the weapons of military aircraft and operate either when the gun is fired or at the operator's will. Gun cameras are used for ...

Sports Shooting

He competed in the 300 metre free rifle event at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

. He ranked 40th.

RFC

Henry joined the

Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 28 ...

as a private soldier at 16 in 1898, he was promoted to

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in 1899, sergeant instructor in 1904, sergeant major instructor in 1907 and

Quartermaster Sergeant instructor Quartermaster sergeant instructor (QMSI) is a warrant officer appointment in the armies of the United Kingdom and Canada. British Army Quartermaster sergeant instructor is an appointment held by warrant officers class 2 in the British Army's S ...

in 1909. From this he became involved in arms development work, particularly with the Lewis gun. Chaney was also involved with the creation of the first " Gunbus". Over the years, Chaney had accumulated a good deal of experience with cameras and photographic equipment as well as of machine guns, and began to experiment with combining the two. His first successful

consisted of a standard Lewis gun, to which a

box camera A box camera is a simple type of camera, the most common form being a cardboard or plastic box with a lens in one end and film at the other. They were sold in large numbers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The lenses are often single ...

had been bolted alongside the barrel. Further development led to the Hythe Gun Camera Mk 111 ,in which the camera body was incorporated into the barrel. The camera was cocked by using the Lewis gun’s cocking handle, and tripped the shutter through an internal linkage to the gun’s trigger. The gun camera now looked, balanced, and behaved much like a proper Lewis gun. Its design was approved and production authorized by the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

. He was awarded a

1918 New Year Honours (OBE) The 1918 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Janu ...

by King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

. He also was twice mentioned in despatches for his services during

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 ...

Death

Chaney was found dead in his rented flat at Baron’s Court, London, in 1919.https://gleaner.newspaperarchive.com/kingston-gleaner/1919-04-02/page-2/ Kingston Gleaner April 2nd,1919: RAF Officer found shot dead It transpired that he had shot and wounded his mother, who was staying with him at the time, before turning the gun on himself and firing a single shot into his left temple. The coroner recorded a verdict of “ Suicide during temporary insanity”. At the time of his death, Chaney, who had risen to Major in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

, was penning a book about his life as a flying officer during

and there were reports about him living with a younger woman at the Baron’s Court address, while his wife, Elizabeth Mary Chaney, and seven children were living away in the country at

Wokingham Wokingham is a market town in Berkshire, England, west of London, southeast of Reading, north of Camberley and west of Bracknell. History Wokingham means 'Wocca's people's home'. Wocca was apparently a Saxon chieftain who may als ...

, near

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. He is buried in

North Sheen Cemetery North Sheen Cemetery is a cemetery in Kew in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (historically in North Sheen, Surrey). It is managed by Hammersmith and Fulham Council. The cemetery, which adjoins Mortlake Road (the A205 or South Circu ...

References

1882 births 1919 deaths British male sport shooters Olympic shooters for Great Britain Royal Flying Corps Shooters at the 1908 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Bermondsey Suicides by firearm in England {{UK-sportshooting-bio-stub