Arthur Henderson (VC)

Arthur Henderson was born at 18 Greenhill Road in Paisley, Renfrewshire, on 6 May 1893, the son of George Henderson, a building contractor and magistrate, and Elizabeth Purdie. Raised in Paisley and educated at the John Neilson Institution, he played cricket for the Ferguslie Cricket Club before taking up employment as an accountant and stockbroker with Messrs R. Easton & Company in Glasgow. Following the outbreak of the First World War, he enlisted on 2 September 1914 as a Private in No. 1 Platoon, A Company of the 1/6th Battalion, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's), serving alongside future Victoria Cross recipient William Davidson Bissett.

Selection for officer training brought a commission as Second Lieutenant in the Special Reserve of Officers attached to the 3rd/6th Battalion on 5 April 1915. His official service record is indexed under Medal Index Card WO372/9 at the National Archives, reflecting an officer appointed prior to the post-war introduction of individual officer service numbers. Crossing to France on 1 October 1915, he joined the 2nd Battalion, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, serving within the 98th Brigade of the 33rd Division. Frontline responsibility accelerated his advancement to Acting Captain on 19 August 1916 during operations on the Somme. At Pommiers Redoubt on 27 and 28 August 1916, he led A Company in a trench attack and consolidated the captured ground while repelling German counterattacks, earning the Military Cross.

Tragedy struck the Henderson family during the opening phase of the Battle of Arras on 9 April 1917, when two of his brothers were killed in action on the same day: Private George Henderson Jnr of the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles and John Henderson at Vimy Ridge. Two weeks after their loss, on 23 April 1917, Acting Captain Henderson commanded his company in an assault on German trench positions near Fontaine-les-Croisilles along the Hindenburg Line. Wounded in the left arm moments after leaving the assembly positions, he pressed forward at the head of his men, secured the final objective, and established defensive blocks against continuous artillery, machine-gun fire, and bombing attacks. He spearheaded a bayonet charge with three soldiers against a superior enemy force and held the isolated position overnight. On the morning of 24 April 1917, while tending to his wounded soldiers following the enemy's withdrawal, he was shot and killed at twenty-three years of age.

The official recommendation was published in the Sixth Supplement to the London Gazette on 3 July 1917 (Issue 30167, page 6697), recording his Victoria Cross citation:

"For most conspicuous bravery. During an attack on the enemy trenches this officer, although almost immediately wounded in the left arm, led his Company through the front enemy line until he gained his final objective. He then proceeded to consolidate his position, which, owing to heavy gun and machine gun fire and bombing attacks, was in danger of being isolated. By his cheerful courage and coolness he was enabled to maintain the spirit of his men under most trying conditions. Captain Henderson was killed after he had successfully accomplished his task."

Buried in Grave 61, Row B of Cojeul British Cemetery in Saint-Martin-sur-Croisilles, Pas-de-Calais, France, his decorations—the Victoria Cross, Military Cross, 1914-15 Star, British War Medal 1914-20, and Victory Medal 1914-19—were presented to his father by King George V at Buckingham Palace on 21 July 1917.