The actor Philip Becker was born 15th December 1889 in Malvern, Worcestershire as Philip John Becker.
Little is known about his life other than the handful of film and TV productions that he appeared in. One example is the film Night Train to Munich (1940) where he played he minor role of a Passenger (pictured).
He also appeared onscreen with perhaps the most recognisable Dr Watson in Sherlock Holmes movies. Other productions that he appeared in include; the TV series Bootsie and Snudge and Sykes and A…, both in 1960. He also appeared in Season 2 of The Avengers in 1962 and Season 2 of the Ghost Squad in 1963.
He died on 13th December 1974 in Marylebone, London.
Malvern based local family historian Chris Sutton recently dug out his detective’s magnifying glass to find out more about the actor and had an article published in the Worcester News - see https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/19139220.tracing-avengers-actors-roots-way-back-malvern/?ref=twtrec
Chris researched a variety of sources starting with the Probate Register which confirmed his date of death as December 13 1974, at 5 Bryanston House in Dorset Street, London. The second source that he researched was the 1939 Register – the snapshot of Britain just before the Second World War broke out.
Because his death was back in 1974 it meant his details should be open to consult on the register, and indeed they were. He is listed as residing at 76 Dickson Road, a hotel in Blackpool, with his wife Alice. Whether they were there on holiday or working is unknown, but both were used to treading the boards because Becker describes himself as a professional singer, while Alice is a retired actress. The sea air must have affected Becker for the better because he knocks a year off his age!
Checking the marriage indexes established that Becker married one Alice Singleton in the March quarter of 1915 in the Chorlton registration district, which later became South Manchester. It was also possible to trace Becker in the censuses, in 1911 he was a grocer’s assistant in Weymouth, while in 1891 and 1901 he was still living at home with his parents, who had moved to Ilfracombe. The latter two censuses also revealed that his father was German and a ‘Bandsman’ or ‘Professor of Music’. In that period before the First World War there was growing tension between Britain and Germany, causing obvious concern for German nationals residing here. Indeed, the biggest foreign population in Britain in the early part of the twentieth century was German.
Becker’s father, Philip Francis Becker, had married Eliza Zora Hill in Malvern in 1885 and, along with many others, he took the step to apply for naturalisation as a British Subject to hopefully avoid any future problems. His 1911 Census entry notes that he was now an agent selling life insurance and, more critically, that he had become a British Subject in 1907.
It was at this point that Chris looked for a living relative of Philip Becker, and. as luck would have it, he found Sue, a great grand-daughter of Becker’s parents, who lives in Malvern.
Sue had met relatives from Ilfracombe and was able to piece together more of the Becker past. The family had told her that Becker Senior was interned during the First World War (in spite of his naturalisation). The fact that his father was German and an intern precluded his son from serving in the British forces. Sue added more background on Becker’s parents: “The family told me that Philip Francis Becker was a musician with a touring German band that came to play in Malvern. Eliza was working (they thought) in a hotel, or as a waitress in Malvern when they met. They would either have married at Holy Trinity or Leigh church.”
Where Philip John Becker was born in 1889 was uncertain, but Sue confirmed that Eliza was at home with mum when he was born. The birth certificate only says Newtown but in the 1891 census John and Elizabeth Hill are living at Albert Cottages, (later 96) Newtown Road and it seems that was where Philip John Becker was born.
All of this means, thanks to Chris Sutton’s research, we now have a few more glimpses into the life of Philip John Becker, a character actor who was born in Malvern. Chris Sutton is happy to undertake family history research for readers via email. This service is only charged for if there are results. Charges are stated in advance. He can be contacted at [email protected]
Little is known about his life other than the handful of film and TV productions that he appeared in. One example is the film Night Train to Munich (1940) where he played he minor role of a Passenger (pictured).
He also appeared onscreen with perhaps the most recognisable Dr Watson in Sherlock Holmes movies. Other productions that he appeared in include; the TV series Bootsie and Snudge and Sykes and A…, both in 1960. He also appeared in Season 2 of The Avengers in 1962 and Season 2 of the Ghost Squad in 1963.
He died on 13th December 1974 in Marylebone, London.
Malvern based local family historian Chris Sutton recently dug out his detective’s magnifying glass to find out more about the actor and had an article published in the Worcester News - see https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/19139220.tracing-avengers-actors-roots-way-back-malvern/?ref=twtrec
Chris researched a variety of sources starting with the Probate Register which confirmed his date of death as December 13 1974, at 5 Bryanston House in Dorset Street, London. The second source that he researched was the 1939 Register – the snapshot of Britain just before the Second World War broke out.
Because his death was back in 1974 it meant his details should be open to consult on the register, and indeed they were. He is listed as residing at 76 Dickson Road, a hotel in Blackpool, with his wife Alice. Whether they were there on holiday or working is unknown, but both were used to treading the boards because Becker describes himself as a professional singer, while Alice is a retired actress. The sea air must have affected Becker for the better because he knocks a year off his age!
Checking the marriage indexes established that Becker married one Alice Singleton in the March quarter of 1915 in the Chorlton registration district, which later became South Manchester. It was also possible to trace Becker in the censuses, in 1911 he was a grocer’s assistant in Weymouth, while in 1891 and 1901 he was still living at home with his parents, who had moved to Ilfracombe. The latter two censuses also revealed that his father was German and a ‘Bandsman’ or ‘Professor of Music’. In that period before the First World War there was growing tension between Britain and Germany, causing obvious concern for German nationals residing here. Indeed, the biggest foreign population in Britain in the early part of the twentieth century was German.
Becker’s father, Philip Francis Becker, had married Eliza Zora Hill in Malvern in 1885 and, along with many others, he took the step to apply for naturalisation as a British Subject to hopefully avoid any future problems. His 1911 Census entry notes that he was now an agent selling life insurance and, more critically, that he had become a British Subject in 1907.
It was at this point that Chris looked for a living relative of Philip Becker, and. as luck would have it, he found Sue, a great grand-daughter of Becker’s parents, who lives in Malvern.
Sue had met relatives from Ilfracombe and was able to piece together more of the Becker past. The family had told her that Becker Senior was interned during the First World War (in spite of his naturalisation). The fact that his father was German and an intern precluded his son from serving in the British forces. Sue added more background on Becker’s parents: “The family told me that Philip Francis Becker was a musician with a touring German band that came to play in Malvern. Eliza was working (they thought) in a hotel, or as a waitress in Malvern when they met. They would either have married at Holy Trinity or Leigh church.”
Where Philip John Becker was born in 1889 was uncertain, but Sue confirmed that Eliza was at home with mum when he was born. The birth certificate only says Newtown but in the 1891 census John and Elizabeth Hill are living at Albert Cottages, (later 96) Newtown Road and it seems that was where Philip John Becker was born.
All of this means, thanks to Chris Sutton’s research, we now have a few more glimpses into the life of Philip John Becker, a character actor who was born in Malvern. Chris Sutton is happy to undertake family history research for readers via email. This service is only charged for if there are results. Charges are stated in advance. He can be contacted at [email protected]
RSS Feed