David Henderson was born in 1862 and, following officer training at the Royal Military College Sandhurst, was commissioned into the British Army on 25 Aug 1882. In 1901 he was appointed Director of Military Intelligence and his works Field Intelligence: Its Principles and Practice (1904) and The Art of Reconnaissance (1907) did much to establish his reputation as the Army's authority on tactical intelligence. The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (commonly known as Sandhurst) is the British Army officer initial training centre. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ...

In 1911, at the age of 49, Henderson learned to fly, making him the world’s oldest pilot at that time. In 1913 he was appointed Director of Military Aeronautics and, with the outbreak of World War One, he took up command of the Royal Flying Corps in the field. By 1915 Henderson returned to London to take up the post of Director-General of Military Aeronautics. This meant that when, in 1917, General Jan Smuts was writing his review of the British Air Services, Henderson was well placed to assist. Whilst seconded to General Smuts, Henderson wrote much of what came to be called the Smuts Report. It has been argued that he had a better claim to the informal title "father of the Royal Air Force" than Sir Hugh Trenchard. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of World War I. Origin and Early History Formed by Royal Warrant on May 13, 1912, the RFC superseded the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers. ... Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the most populous city in the European Union, with an estimated population on 1 January 2005 of 7. ... Jan Smuts Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM (May 24, 1870 – September 11, 1950) was a prominent South African statesman and general. ... The Royal Air Force (often abbreviated to RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard (February 3, 1873 - February 10, 1956) was the British Chief of the Air Staff during World War I, and was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force (RAF). ...

After the end of the Great War, Henderson became Director-General of the League of Red Cross Societies in Geneva, where he died in 1921. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Red_Crystal_flag. ... Geneva (French: Genève, German: Genf, Italian: Ginevra) is the second most populous city in Switzerland, situated where Lake Geneva (known in French as Lac Léman) flows into the Rhône River. ...

References

• Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - Lt Gen Henderson
• Centre for First World War Studies, Birmingham Uinversity - Sir David Henderson