Richard Alexander Henderson
| Richard Alexander Henderson | |
|---|---|
Pte. Richard Alexander "Dick" Henderson using a donkey to carry a wounded soldier at the Battle of Gallipoli; photograph taken 12 May 1915 by Sergeant James Gardiner Jackson
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| Nickname(s) | Dick |
| Born | 26 August 1895 Waihi, New Zealand |
| Died | 14 November 1958, aged 63 Auckland, New Zealand |
| Allegiance |
 New Zealand
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| Service/branch |
 New Zealand Military Forces
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| Rank | Corporal |
| Service number | 3/258 |
| Unit | New Zealand Medical Corps |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Military Medal |
| Other work | school-teacher |
Private Richard Alexander "Dick" Henderson MM (26 August 1895 – 14 November 1958) was a school-teacher who served with the New Zealand Medical Corps at the Battle of Gallipoli. Like John Simpson Kirkpatrick, he used a donkey to carry wounded soldiers from the battlefield. He was later honoured with a Military Medal for repeatedly rescuing wounded from the battlefield while under heavy fire at the Battle of the Somme.
Henderson was born on 26 August 1895 at Waihi in the North Island of New Zealand. He was a trainee teacher in Auckland until the outbreak of the First World War. On 10 August 1914, he enlisted with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) as a stretcher-bearer in the New Zealand Medical Corps.
Henderson embarked for the Middle East with the main body of the NZEF in October 1914. Soon after the ANZAC landings at Gallipoli he saw John Simpson Kirkpatrick using a donkey to carry wounded soldiers, and began to do the same. While it is reported that he began this work after Kirkpatrick's death on 19 May 1915, he was photographed with a donkey carrying a wounded man on 12 May 1915 by Sergeant James Gardiner Jackson. According to Henderson's own account, he continued the work for about six weeks after Kirkpatrick's death.
Henderson later served in France, and on 22 October 1916 was awarded the recently created Military Medal for bravery in battle on land, with the citation "During operations on the Somme on 15th September he went out repeatedly under heavy shellfire and brought in wounded who were exposed to it. He set a fine example to other bearers". Henderson was promoted to lance corporal and then, on 23 March 1917, to corporal.
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