St John Hamund

St John Hamund was born St John Gervais Shadwell Clerke in Sandgate, Kent in 1869. His father was from an Irish military family. By 1885 St John had joined the army, and in January 1888 he was promoted to Second Lieutenant in the 3rd and 4th Batallions (Duke of Wellington, West Riding Regiment). St John left the Army with the rank of Captain to become an actor. In April 1894 he was elected to the Actors' Association under the name St John Hamund. He began acting professionally in 1894, and by the early 1900s was writing comedic performances. Sketches and musical comedies written by Hamund include Poupée, Ladies First, The Scarlet Patrol, and The Country Girl. He was Entertainment Manager at the Scala Theatre for a year in 1911. Towards the end of the First World War he was brought back into the military as 2nd Lieutenant to the Royal Flying Corps in February 1918. After the war he returned to acting and tour management until his death in 1929 at the age of 59.