Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Vivian Leonard Henderson MC (6 October 1884 – 3 February 1965) was a British

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

officer and

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician who was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

three times, for three different constituencies. Henderson was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, and following education at

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils 13-18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson (rector), Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oa ...

and the

Royal Military College Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

, was commissioned as an officer in the

Loyal North Lancashire Regiment The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) (until 1921 known as the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Lancashire Reg ...

in 1904. He served with the regiment in 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 ...

. During the

First Battle of Ypres The First Battle of Ypres (french: Première Bataille des Flandres; german: Erste Flandernschlacht – was a battle of the First World War, fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front around Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium. Th ...

in October 1914 his bravery at Bixschotte led to the award of the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

. After the war he was appointed

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

commanding the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion of the Loyals in the Supplementary Reserve (SR) on 15 October 1921, and retained the position until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, even though the SR was in abeyance. Following the war, he was elected at the 1918 general election as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Glasgow Tradeston. He stood as a

Coalition Conservative The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victory ...

, and having received the "

coalition coupon The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victory ...

", he took the seat with a huge majority over the sitting

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

MP,

James Dundas White James Dundas White (10 July 1866 – 30 April 1951), known as J. D. White, was a Scottish Liberal Party politician. He was Member of Parliament (MP) from 1906 to 1918, with a short break in 1911. Background White was the nephew of Lord Overtoun. ...

, who was pushed into third place behind a candidate of the

British Socialist Party The British Socialist Party (BSP) was a Marxist political organisation established in Great Britain in 1911. Following a protracted period of factional struggle, in 1916 the party's anti-war forces gained decisive control of the party and saw t ...

. In 1921 he was appointed a member of the Royal Commission on Fire Prevention. At the 1922 general election, Henderson lost his seat by a wide margin to the

Labour Co-operative Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated Labour Co-op; cy, Llafur a'r Blaid Gydweithredol) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidat ...

candidate Tom Henderson (unrelated). Henderson did not stand again in Glasgow, but fought the 1923 general election in the Liberal-held Bootle constituency on

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

. He did not win the seat, but cut the Liberal majority to only 453 votes, and at the 1924 general election he took the seat by a comfortable margin of 2,934 votes. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

on 28 June 1927, and was appointed in November of that year to the junior ranks of the

Conservative Government Conservative or Tory government may refer to: Canada In Canadian politics, a Conservative government may refer to the following governments administered by the Conservative Party of Canada or one of its historical predecessors: * 1st Canadian Mi ...

, as

Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department This article lists past and present Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State serving the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom at the Home Office. Non-permanent and parliamentary under-secretaries, 1782–present *April 1782: Evan Nepean *April 17 ...

. However, at the 1929 general election, when the Labour Party took power for the second time, Henderson's seat in Bootle was one of Labour's gains. He was returned to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

at the 1931 general election for

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

, which had been a safe Conservative seat since the collapse of the Liberals in the early 1920s. In 1934 his health deteriorated, and he stepped down at the 1935 general election. On his retirement from the Commons, he was offered the post of

Governor of Burma The colonial governors of Burma were the colonial administrators responsible for the territory of British Burma, an area equivalent to modern-day Myanmar. As a result of the Second Anglo-Burmese War, Burma was initially setup as a province o ...

, but declined on medical advice. He did, however, continue his involvement in public affairs, and was appointed a deputy lieutenant and

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

, serving as chairman of the Hampstead and Lambeth Juvenile Courts. He married Eileen Marjorie Dowell, daughter of Brigadier-General G W Dowell in 1913, and they had three daughters. He died at his London home in February 1965, aged 80.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Vivian L 1884 births 1965 deaths Knights Bachelor Recipients of the Military Cross Loyal Regiment officers Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs People educated at Uppingham School Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow constituencies Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1931–1935 Deputy Lieutenants of the County of London English justices of the peace