David Henderson ( British Army officer ) Lieutenant General Sir David Henderson KCB , KCVO , DSO , LLD ( 11 August 1862 – 17 August 1921 ) was an officer in the British Army who came to be considered as the leading authority on tactical intelligence during the early years of the 20th century . Henderson was also the first commander of the Royal Flying Corps in the field and was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force as an independent service . Early and family life . David Henderson was born in Glasgow on 11 August 1862 into a shipping family . His father , also called David , was a joint owner of the Clydeside ship builders David and William Henderson and Company . Henderson entered the University of Glasgow in 1877 at the age of just fifteen . While at university , Henderson read engineering and in his fourth year ( 1880 – 1881 ) he studied civil engineering and mechanics as well as office and field work in engineering . Henderson — for reasons unbeknownst to history — left to attend Sandhurst instead of graduating from the University of Glasgow . In 1895 , Henderson married Henrietta Caroline Dundas , later known as Dame Henrietta Henderson . She was a Dame of Grace , Order of St . John of Jerusalem ( D . G . St . J . ) and was knighted in 1919 as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire ( DBE ) . The couple had three children , Ian Henry David Henderson born in 1896 who also joined the Royal Flying Corps , reaching the rank of captain , Stewart Peter Henderson . and Angela Margaret Henderson , born circa 1906 . Ian Henderson predeceased his parents , dying in a flying accident in June 1918 . Dame Henrietta Henderson died on 14 April 1959 . Military career . Following officer training at the Royal Military College Sandhurst , Henderson was commissioned into the British Army on 25 August 1882 , joining the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders . Henderson was a member of the Nile Expedition of 1898 and was wounded at the Siege of Ladysmith during the Boer War . In February 1901 Kitchener appointed Henderson his Director of Military Intelligence , a post he held until the end of the Boer War . His subsequent 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 . In 1911 , at the age of 49 , Henderson learned to fly , making him the world ’ s oldest pilot at that time . He formed part of the technical sub - committee of the Air Committee which helped to decide the organisation of the Royal Flying Corps , which was formed on 13 April 1912 . In 1913 the control of military aviation was separated from the responsibilities of the Master - General of the Ordnance . A new Department of Military Aeronautics was established and Henderson was appointed the first Director and , with the outbreak of World War I , he took up command of the Royal Flying Corps in the field . On 22 November 1914 , Henderson was appointed General Officer Commanding the 1st Infantry Division and his Chief of Staff Frederick Sykes took up command in his stead . However , Henderson did not spend long commanding the 1st Infantry Division . The decision to post Henderson and replace him with Sykes was not to Lord Kitchener ' s liking and he ordered a reversal of the appointments . On 20 December 1914 , Henderson resumed command of the Royal Flying Corps in the Field and Sykes was once again his Chief of Staff . In 1915 Henderson returned to London to resume his London - based duties as Director - General of Military Aeronautics , which Sefton Brancker had been performing in his absence . This meant that when , in 1917 , General Jan Smuts was writing his review of the British Air Services , Henderson was well placed to assist . While 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 . Trenchard himself believed that Henderson deserved the accolade . In January 1918 , Henderson was made a member of the Air Council , serving as its vice - president . However , having not been appointed as the RAF ' s Chief of the Air Staff , Henderson resigned from the Air Council in April , citing his desire to escape the atmosphere of intrigue at the Air Ministry . Following his departure from the Air Council , Henderson returned to France where he served until October 1918 . After the armistice , Henderson served as a military counsellor during the Paris Peace Conference until the signing of the Versailles Treaty in June 1919 . Henderson then became Director - General of the League of Red Cross Societies in Geneva , where he died in 1921 , aged 59 . Honours . Henderson was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1902 for his work during the Second Boer War . In April 1914 he was created Knight Commander of the Bath ( KCB ) . In March 1918 , Henderson accepted the honorary position of Colonel of the Highland Light Infantry . External links .