Reginald Henderson from HMS Erin to the convoy system

Henderson entered the Royal Navy in 1895, served in China, North America and home waters, and qualified as a gunnery officer before joining Admiral Mark Kerr's naval mission to Greece. At the outbreak of the First World War, he became executive officer of HMS Erin, a battleship built for the Ottoman Empire and taken into Royal Navy service. Erin was a foreign design that had to operate alongside the Grand Fleet, so her executive officer faced extensive technical and organizational work to keep the ship functioning within British systems. John Jellicoe later selected Henderson for Admiralty work as one of a group of young officers noted for ability, initiative and energy. Henderson helped convince senior leaders that convoy was practical, then worked on administering the system for protecting commerce through the end of the war. His career shows how gunnery training and shipboard integration could lead into senior staff work.