Clarence Evelyn Beerbohm was the younger of the two children of Julius Beerbohm (1854-1906) and Evelyn Beerbohm née Davies, (1849-1931). His birth was registered in the 2nd quarter of 1885 in the Marylebone registration district, Middlesex.
His mother had previously been married to Edward Capper Copeland (1835-1875) and in 1878 to Captain Reginald Younghusband (1844-1879) who was killed on 22 January 1879 in the Battle of Isandlwana, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. One of his paternal uncles was Sir Herbert Draper Beerbohm Tree (1852-1917).
The 1891 census shows him living at 7 Deanery Street, Mayfair, with his parents and his half-sister, Evelyn Carlile Copeland (1871-1952), together with a female general domestic servant and a footman. His elder sister, Marie Marguerite Beerbohm (1883-1928) was recorded as a visitor at the home of Lawrence & Emma Yeomans, a farmer at Fleet Hill, Finchampstead, Berkshire.
He was described as a college student in the 1901 census, boarding with his mother at 31 Lower Belgrave Street, Westminster, the home of William and Elizabeth White.
In the 4th quarter of 1909 in the St George Hanover Square registration district he married Elizabeth Hamilton Anderson (1880-1967) and on 7 September 1910 their son, John David Russell Beerbohm (1910-1989) was born. When their son was baptised on 14 December 1910 at St Paul's Church, Wilton Place, Knightsbridge, the baptismal register shows the family residing at 5 Symons Street, Knightsbridge.
The Tonbridge at War website gives a detailed biography of the man and the Find a Grave website lists both his military service and his many professional acting performances. The London Gazette of 1 September 1914 confirmed that he was made a Second Lieutenant (on probation) in the 12th Lancers with effect from 14 August 1914 and The London Gazette dated 7 September 1914 confirmed that he had previously served as a Lieutenant in the 3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters).
Having entered France on 29 April 1915, he died, aged 32 years, on 26 September 1917 in Ypres, Belgium and was buried in Plot 7, Row D, Grave 3, in The Huts Cemetery, Steenakkerstraat, 8900 Ypres, Belgium. His army effects, totalling £220-16s-3d, were credited to his account after his death and he was posthumously awarded the 1914-1915 Star, the British War Medal 1914-1918 and the Victory Medal.
He is shown as BEERBOHM. C.E. MAJOR.R.F.A.162.BRIGADE on the Quebec Chapel war memorial at the Church of the Annunciation, Bryanston Street, London, W1H 7AH; as Beerbohm, Clarence Evelyn in the Book of Remembrance held outside St Luke’s Chapel within St Paul's Church, Wilton Place, London, SW1X 8SH and as Beerbohm, C. E. on one of the three wooden panels in the theatre foyer on right hand back wall facing the main entrance of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Catherine Street, London, WC2B 5JF. He is also commemorated on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's website and the Imperial War Museum's Lives of the First World War website.
This page about his sister Marie describes their family life: "The family had close ties to the theater through Marie’s uncle Herbert Beerbohm Tree, an actor and respected theater manager. Her brother Clarence “Evelyn” Beerbohm became a beloved comedy actor before he died on the front line in October 1917. Her parents were jet setters, traveling frequently from London to Paris and the French Riviera ..."
Credit for this entry to: Andrew Behan.
