Henry Alfred Cumberbatch

Henry Alfred Cumberbatch
CMG
Born(1858-06-27)27 June 1858
Berdiansk, Taurida Governorate, Russian Empire
Died3 December 1918(1918-12-03) (aged 60)
OccupationDiplomat
SpouseHelene Gertrude Rees
Children5, including Henry Carlton Cumberbatch
Parent(s)Robert William Cumberbatch
Louisa Grace Hanson
FamilyTimothy Carlton Cumberbatch (grandson)
Benedict Cumberbatch (great-grandson)
AwardsOrder of St Michael & St George

Henry Alfred Cumberbatch[1] CMG[1] (27 June 1858[1] – 3 December 1918[1]) was a British diplomat who served as a consul in Romania, Turkey and Lebanon.

Life and career

Cumberbatch was born in Berdiansk,[1] (then part of the Russian Empire, now Ukraine), the son of Robert William Cumberbatch, who was consul there, and his wife Louisa Grace (née Hanson).[1][2][3] He was educated at Christ's College, Finchley.[1][4]

August 1, 1876, at the age of 18, Cumberbatch was appointed student dragoman in the embassy in Constantinople.[2][3] Cumberbatch followed his father into the diplomatic service, being appointed vice-consul at Bucharest, Romania, on 26 July 1879,[5] later transferring to Sulina, before being promoted to consul at Adrianople in the Ottoman Empire (now Edirne, Turkey) on 20 March 1888.[6] He was transferred to Angora on 22 July 1893,[7] and while serving as consul there was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George on 20 May 1896.[8] He was appointed consul at Smyrna (now Izmir, Turkey) on 18 November 1896,[9] and consul-general there from 1 April 1900.[10] Cumberbatch was mentioned by Gertrude Bell in her works after a meeting in 1907.[11] On 22 January 1908 Cumberbatch was appointed consul-general for the Vilayet of Beirut and the Mutessariflik of the Lebanon, resident at Beirut,[12] serving there until 1914.[13]

Cumberbatch died 3 December 1918 and was buried 7 December 1918 at Brompton Cemetery, London.[1]

Personal life

Cumberbatch married Helene Gertrude Rees, daughter of Thomas Bowen Rees and American born Ida Josephine Langdon, in Smyrna on 16 January 1891.[1][11] Their children were:

  1. Major Robert Cecil Cumberbatch (1892–1963)[14][15]
  2. Ida Sybil Cumberbatch (1895–1947)
  3. Captain Sir Hugh Douglas Cumberbatch (1897–1951)[16]
  4. Commander Henry Carlton Cumberbatch RN (1900–1966)[17]
  5. Nancy Mary Cumberbatch (1905–1948)

Present descendants include his great-grandson, actor Benedict Cumberbatch, son of actor Timothy Carlton and grandson of Henry Carlton[17] as well as descendants of Robert Cecil[15] who married Nora Skender of Athens and Ida Sybil who married Henry Alwyn Barker of Alexandria.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Henry Alfred Cumberbatch 1858-1918 – Cumberbatch". Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b [1] Lyman Igor, Konstantinova Viktoria. British Consul in Berdyansk Cumberbatch, Great-great-grandfather of Modern Sherlock Holmes, in Scriptorium nostrum, 2017, № 2 (8), p. 195-207
  3. ^ a b [2] Igor Lyman, Victoria Konstantinova. The Ukrainian South as Viewed by Consuls of the British Empire (Nineteenth - Early Twentieth Centuries). Volume 1: British Consuls in the Port City of Berdyansk (Kyiv, 2018), pages 271-287
  4. ^ "Ancestors of Charles Anthony Wratislaw" (PDF). Levantine Heritage Foundation. 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  5. ^ "No. 24751". The London Gazette. 12 August 1879. p. 4899.
  6. ^ "No. 25807". The London Gazette. 13 April 1888. p. 2135.
  7. ^ "No. 26429". The London Gazette. 4 August 1893. p. 4436.
  8. ^ "No. 26745". The London Gazette. 2 June 1896. p. 3245.
  9. ^ "No. 26803". The London Gazette. 15 December 1896. p. 7403.
  10. ^ "No. 11192". The Edinburgh Gazette. 27 April 1900. p. 418.
  11. ^ a b "The Contributors: Cynthia Hill". Levantine Heritage: The story of a community. 2002. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  12. ^ "No. 28102". The London Gazette. 24 January 1908. p. 566.
  13. ^ "Henry Arnold Cumberbatch". Palestine: Information with Provenance (PIWP database). Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  14. ^ "Robert Cecil Cumberbatch 1892-1970 – Cumberbatch". Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  15. ^ a b "Robert Cecil Cumberbatch". cumberbatch.org. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  16. ^ "Sir Hugh Douglas Cumberbatch". cumberbatch.org. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  17. ^ a b "Henry Carlton Cumberbatch – Cumberbatch". Retrieved 3 June 2022.