Basil Henriques

Sir Basil Lucas Quixano Henriques CBE JP (17 October 1890 – 2 December 1961)[1] was a British philanthropist of Portuguese Jewish origins,[2] concentrating his work in the East End of London during the first half of the 20th century.

[citation needed] In 1923 Henriques became a magistrate,[3] and was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1948 Birthday Honours.

In 1950, during the annual conference of the Magistrates' Association, Henriques spoke in favour of a motion which condemned 'women who go out to work and prefer the privileges of marriage to its responsibilities'.

[11] Basil Henriques was the author of several books, mostly concerned with the care of youth, including: In his role as a children's court magistrate, he also wrote the foreword to the Enid Blyton novel, The Six Bad Boys (1951), which relates the bad consequences of family breakdown for six boys, culminating in their appearing in a children's court for theft.

Henriques, in his foreword, praises Blyton for her treatment of this subject, and stresses the negative effects of broken homes on children – one of the major themes of this novel.