John Edwin Yerbury was born in Hampstead, Middlesex [now London], England on 8 November 1868 and was articled to his father, Robert Allen Yerbury, (1820-?) a builder and contractor in Kilburn, from 1885 to 1896. He travelled extensively in Europe before establishing his own architectural practice in London in 1899. He was Surveyor to the Scottish Amicable Life Assurance Society, Co-operative Insurance Society Ltd., and Co-operative Permanent Building Society.
Yerbury was one of the earliest Hon. Members of the Committee for Survey of Memorials of Greater London. He was elected a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (LRIBA) in 1911 and was admitted a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1929. He was also a member of the Council of the Central Association of Master Builders of London, and a member of Committee of Tenant Co-operators Ltd. (the Pioneer Society in co-operative housing).
Yerbury was awarded the Royal Humane Society Medal for saving four lives [date not known]. His address was given as 81 St. Margaret's Lodge, High Road, Kilburn, London in 1891; 58 Coniston Road, Muswell Hill, Hornsey, Middlesex in 1911; 3 Queen Street, Cheapside, London in 1911 and 1926; 5 Lionel Mansions, Brook Green, London in 1923 and 1926; Holophane House, 3, Elverton Street, Westminster, London in 1930 and 1935; Newland Cottage, 19 Esher Avenue, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey in 1939; and 205 Rivermead Court, Fulham, London in 1945. He died on 5 June 1945
Private residences. Has considerable experience in arbitrations and in Law Courts. Director of Lyle Trading and Manufacturing Co., Ltd. [Source: Who's Who in Architecture 1914]
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 2: L-Z. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001