Henry Arnold Cumberbatch

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

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
Spouse(s)Helene 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

Life and career

Cumberbatch was born in Berdiansk, (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] He was educated at Christ's College, Finchley.[3]

August 1, 1876, at the age of 18, Cumberbatch was appointed student dragoman in the Embassy in Constantinople.[1][2] Cumberbatch followed his father into the diplomatic service, being appointed Vice-Consul at Bucharest, Romania, on 26 July 1879,[4] later transferring to Sulina, before being promoted to Consul at Adrianople in the Ottoman Empire (now Edirne, Turkey) on 20 March 1888.[5] He was transferred to Angora on 22 July 1893,[6] and while serving as Consul there was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George on 20 May 1896.[7] He was appointed Consul at Smyrna (now Izmir, Turkey) on 18 November 1896,[8] and Consul-General there from 1 April 1900.[9] Cumberbatch was mentioned by Gertrude Bell in her works after a meeting in 1907.[10] On 22 January 1908 Cumberbatch was appointed Consul-General for the Vilayet of Beirut and the Mutessariflik of the Lebanon, resident at Beirut,[11] serving there until 1914.[12]

Personal life

Cumberbatch married Helene Gertrude Rees in Smyrna on 16 January 1891.[10] Their children were:

  1. Major Robert Cecil Cumberbatch (1892–1963)[13]
  2. Ida Sybil Cumberbatch (1895–1947)
  3. Captain Sir Hugh Douglas Cumberbatch (1897–1951)[14]
  4. Commander Henry Carlton Cumberbatch RN (1900–1966)
  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 as well as descendants of Robert Cecil who married Nora Skender of Athens and Ida Sybil who married Henry Alwyn Barker of Alexandria.

References
  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
  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
  3. "Ancestors of Charles Anthony Wratislaw" (PDF). Levantine Heritage Foundation. 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  4. "No. 24751". The London Gazette. 12 August 1879. p. 4899.
  5. "No. 25807". The London Gazette. 13 April 1888. p. 2135.
  6. "No. 26429". The London Gazette. 4 August 1893. p. 4436.
  7. "No. 26745". The London Gazette. 2 June 1896. p. 3245.
  8. "No. 26803". The London Gazette. 15 December 1896. p. 7403.
  9. "No. 11192". The Edinburgh Gazette. 27 April 1900. p. 418.
  10. "The Contributors: Cynthia Hill". Levantine Heritage: The story of a community. 2002. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  11. "No. 28102". The London Gazette. 24 January 1908. p. 566.
  12. "Henry Arnold Cumberbatch". Palestine: Information with Provenance (PIWP database). Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  13. "Robert Cecil Cumberbatch". cumberbatch.org. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  14. "Sir Hugh Douglas Cumberbatch". cumberbatch.org. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
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