Hensley

In the short story The Gate of Baghdad, Hensley is a passenger travelling from Damascus to Baghdad on the same bus as Parker Pyne. He worked at the public works department of Baghdad and was a friend and colleague of Captain Smethurst. After the murder of Smethurst during the bus journey, Hensley was, for a time, regarded as the main suspect. This was because Flight Lieutenant Williamson had overhead Smethurst saying to some unknown person that he could not let a pal down. Henley was the most plausible person who Smethurst would have regarded as a pal. Secondly, Hensley mentioned that he always carried spare socks in his pocket. Squadron Leader Loftus, the R.A.F. doctor on the bus had examined the body and had suggested that Smethurst could have been killed with a blow to the head, such as could be done with a sock filled with sand.

Portrayals
Hensley was played by Rupert Degas in the radio dramatization of the story on BBC Radio 4. There he was given the rank "Captain" although what form his military service took was not stated.