Nigel Henderson

Admiral Sir Nigel Stuart Henderson, (1 August 1909 – 2 August 1993) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 1968 to 1971.

Naval career Henderson joined the Royal Navy in 1927. He served in the Second World War as a gunnery officer. He was made Head of the British Defence Staff in Washington, D.C. and UK Military Representative to NATO in 1965 and then Chairman of the NATO Military Committee in 1968.

Personal life Henderson married Catherine Mary Maitland in 1939. They had three children, a son and two daughters. In 1959 Lady Henderson inherited the estate of Hensol House near Castle Douglas from her godmother Helen, Marchioness of Ailsa. The couple retired there in 1971.

In retirement Henderson spearheaded the effort to restore the Scottish birthplace of John Paul Jones at Arbigland back to its original 1747 condition. He was also a Deputy Lieutenant of the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright and a Patron of the Ten Tors Challenge held each year on Dartmoor.