This obituary replicated from the RGJ Association website.

Good officers make good company commanders. They will be remembered with respect and affection by those they commanded. Members of A Company 2 RGJ, rightly remember Clinton Henshaw as just such an officer. Clinton, however, had a much wider and happily remembered reputation as a loyal and thoughtful Rifleman, able to win battles and arguments on a rough street corner, a dusty ex-colonial capital or a cabinet office conference room. He was a wonderful companion on and off duty and a proud Regimental Officer whose concern for his Riflemen was legendary.

Coming from a distinguished line of Riflemen, it is no wonder that after Wellington and Sandhurst he should be commissioned into the 60th . His father had commanded 11 KRRC (Queen’s Westminster) in the last two years of the war. His grandfather, serving in the same Territorial battalion, had been badly wounded at Ypres and his great-grandfather had served in the Rifle Brigade at the end of the previous Century.

He joined the 60th as a potential officer at the Rifle Depot in 1954. Potential officers were not popular with the other recruits and a real battle took place between him and a fellow Rifleman. The result was a draw, and they became good friends in the Battalion. Many years later he hailed a taxi at Waterloo Station and who should the driver be but that same Rifleman. Leaving Sandhurst in 1956 he was posted to 2 KRRC stationed in Tidworth. The Battalion was disbanded later that year, and he transferred to 1 KRRC in Tripoli as the 3” Mortar Platoon Commander. 1 KRRC, by then re-badged as 2 GJ (KRRC), moved to Ballykinler in Northern Ireland where he continued as Mortar Platoon Commander.

In 1960 he was appointed ADC to Major General Alick Williams (ex KRRC) commanding 2nd Division in BAOR. As ADC he learnt a lot about the Army and had many interesting experiences, particularly flying in helicopters in which they had 3 crashes. On one occasion the pilot flew into telephone wires but fortunately landed in a stinking pond.

He re-joined 2 GJ (KRRC) in 1962 in Berlin as the Recce Platoon Commander. The Battalion moved to Colchester in 1962 and he was appointed Signals Officer. He played cricket, hockey, rugger and golf for the Regiment when duty allowed. In 1963 he became engaged to Suzi Phillips and was due to be married that September. However, the Battalion was dispatched to Georgetown in British Guiana on an emergency tour of 6 months and the wedding, at the very last minute, had to be postponed until February 1964. Being Signals Officer was a challenging job, with the Battalion spread widely across the jungle-covered country, and it was there that he earned the nickname “Gutty”, having swum across the Demerara River with a 12 Volt battery strapped to his back.

On return he was posted to the Queen’s Royal Rifles (TA) in London as Adjutant before he went to the Staff College. From there he was appointed GSO2 Ops at HQ Eastern District in Colchester from 1967-1969 and returned to 2RGJ in Münster as A Company Commander. The Battalion was posted to Ballykelly, Co. Londonderry in 1971 to be confronted with vicious rioting in the Bogside and Creggan estates, particularly during operations to enforce Internment. On one occasion a nail bomb exploded very near him but fortunately only his hearing suffered. He was mentioned in dispatches (1972) for his courage and tenacity, an award that may have underplayed his merits as an operational company commander.

He was posted as Assistant Military Attaché to the British Defence Liaison Staff in Ottawa where he served from 1972-74, returning to 2RGJ in Catterick as second in command to Lt Col David Ramsbotham. This posting included a four-month unaccompanied tour in West Belfast. On promotion to Lt Col in 1975 he joined the staff of FM Sir Michael Carver, Chief of Defence Staff in MOD.

He commanded the Rifle Depot at Winchester from 1977-1980. At the end of this tour he was promoted to Colonel and sent to Rhodesia at short notice as a member of the Commonwealth Monitoring Force and as MA to Sir Christopher Soames, the last Governor of Rhodesia. He acted as MA to Prince Charles when he officiated at the Zimbabwe Independence Ceremony. On the first day of HRH’s visit he escorted him to an African township where they got engulfed by huge crowds, losing their bodyguards in the confusion. “The problem is” said HRH as he grabbed Clinton Henshaw’s hand, “they all think you are the Prince of Wales.” (This was because he was in uniform and HRH was not). On Independence Day he was told that he would become the first Military

Attaché at the British High Commission of the newly independent Zimbabwe with accreditation to Mozambique and Botswana. Two enjoyable years followed before he returned to the MOD to serve as Head of Defence Intelligence (Rest of the World).

He then served as a Brigadier in the Cabinet Office Assessment Staff, as Deputy Head of Intelligence covering Northern Ireland, Africa, South America and the Caribbean (an odd combination, but his not to reason why). His final appointment was as the Military Attaché in the British Embassy in Paris from 1988-1991, a most enjoyable culmination to his military career, as his picture above shows.

Earlier in 1985 he had been awarded the CBE; proof that he was as good in the corridors of power as he had been on the streets of Northern Ireland. The picture does not allow one to see the black metal insignia of Aide-de-Camp to HM The Queen, but experts will spot the aiguillettes on the right shoulder, not the Attaché’s left. The appointment is an honour rarely bestowed, but one richly deserved for his long service as an effective infantry commander, military diplomat and specialist staff officer.

He retired from the Army in 1992 and was selected to serve as Secretary of The Beit Trust, a charity which gives substantial grants in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi for education, health, the environment and welfare. This was a rewarding job which involved visits to the three countries biannually to see the Trust’s work. Thereafter he retired at the age of 75 to pursue his pastimes of fishing, golf and gardening.

He leaves a widow, Suzi, equally as popular in the Regiment as he, and their two daughters Caroline and Nicola with their families. The Regiment offers its deepest condolences to them on the death of a much admired and valued Greenjacket officer.

TRH-B
AEB
HCGW

Condolence letters:
Mrs C.L.G. Henshaw (Suzi)
8 Pigeon House Field
Sutton Scotney
Winchester
S021 3NU

Thanksgiving Service at Holy Trinity Church, Wonston, Sutton Scotney, Winchester, SO21 3PE at 12 Noon on Tuesday 6 May 2025.