Charles Henry Bovill (28 September 1878 – 24 March 1918), professionally known as C. H. Bovill, was an English writer, songwriter and lyricist, known for his collaborations with P. G. Wodehouse,

George Grossmith Jr. George Grossmith Jr. (11 May 1874 – 6 June 1935) was an English actor, theatre producer and Actor-manager, manager, director, playwright and songwriter, best remembered for his work in and with Edwardian musical comedies. Grossmith was also a ...

and others. His career was cut short by the First World War in which he died while serving in the British army in France.

Life and career

Bovill was born at Coonoor, India, the only son of Major Charles Edward Bovill, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, and his wife, Ellen Marie. He was educated at Bedford Grammar School, after which he entered the civil service in 1900, serving there until 1912."Roll of Honour," ''The Times'', 28 March 1918, p. 4 He married Ethel Rachel Kay at St Augustine's,

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

on 30 September 1907; they had three sons. In the early 1900s while still a civil servant, Bovill began writing song lyrics, collaborating with, among other composers, Ernest Shand and Philip Braham. In 1905 his short play ''Goodbye, Pierrot'' was given as a curtain raiser in provincial performances. In 1907 he and P. G. Wodehouse contributed lyrics for Seymour Hicks's musical '' The Gay Gordons''. For revues contributed lyrics to

's ''Come Inside'' (1909), and was co-author of ''Mr Manhattan'' and ''Half Past Eight'', and was writer of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane's 1912 pantomime, ''The Sleeping Beauty''. Among later

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

revues of which Bovill was the author were ''Everybody's Doing It'' (1912), ''All the Winners'' (1913), ''

Nuts and Wine ''Nuts and Wine'' was a theatrical revue, with lyrics by C. H. Bovill and P. G. Wodehouse and music by Frank E. Tours, with additional numbers by Guy Jones and Melville Gideon, from a book by Bovill and Wodehouse. It was performed at the Empi ...

'' (1914, with contributions from Wodehouse), and ''Honi Soit'' (1915). He wrote the words for what was billed as a "vaudeville", ''The Gay Lothario'' (1913). In addition to his theatrical work, Bovill wrote humorous prose for publications including '' The Globe'', where for some time Wodehouse was a colleague. While working on ''Nuts and Wine'' they wrote a series of short stories based on Bovill's idea of a young man who comes into a lot of money and finds himself in a succession of adventures.Jasen, pp. 50–51 The stories appeared in '' The Strand Magazine'' in Britain and '' The Delineator'' in the US, and were later published as a book. Other publications for which Bovill wrote short stories included '' The Grand'', '' Pearson's'', ''

The London "The London" is a song by American rapper Young Thug featuring fellow American rappers J. Cole and Travis Scott. It was released through Atlantic Records and 300 Entertainment as the lead single and closing track from Thug's debut studio album, ...

'', and other magazines."C. H. Bovill"
''Who's Who and Who Was Who'', Oxford University Press, 2007. Retrieved 24 October 2020 During the First World War, Bovill volunteered for the army and was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the 1st battalion, Coldstream Guards in 1916. He was mortally wounded on 21 March 1918 and died three days later. He was buried in the Duisans British Cemetery, Etrun."War Graves of the British Empire"
Imperial War Graves Commission, 1925, p. 16. Retrieved 24 October 2020

References

Sources

External links

*
Bovill, C.H. (Charles H.), b. 1878
Library of Congress Performing Arts Encyclopedia *
A Man of Means
', Project Gutenberg *
Plays by C.H. Bovill on Great War Theatre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bovill, C H Lyricists American musical theatre lyricists 1878 births People educated at Bedford School 1918 deaths English writers British Army personnel of World War I Coldstream Guards officers British military personnel killed in World War I British people in colonial India