He was born in the parish of All Cannings near Devizes in Wiltshire to Thomas Drury and Mabel Annie Smith. By the time he enlisted he was living in Sheffield, where he had been since the age of two. His service record describes him as 5' 6", weighing 148.5 lbs, brown eyes and dark brown hair.
On 10 Mar 1945 he married Betty Margaret Seary at Swallownest Methodist Church in Sheffield. She lived at 80 Bradbourne Street, Palmers Green in London after the marriage. They had three children, though sadly their first son died at just 2 years old.
They returned to Sheffield and in 1950, he wrote the history of the Sheffield and District Battalion, Boys Brigade. His father was commanding the 4th District in 1927. He had won the Military Cross in the First World War.
| Unit or location | Role | Posted from | until |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Norfolk Scout Section | Scout Section Driver | 01 Oct 1940 | 03 Mar 1941 |
Hay Corn Merchant
He enlisted in the Royal Army Service Corps, training at No.7 Driver Training Centre at Luton.
5 Aug 1940 Posted to 150 Company RASC
1 Oct 1940 Posted to Scout Section, Norfolk Auxiliary Units. While his service record clear states his posting, there are no other details relating to this period. He left after five months though the reason is not known. One clue as to his posting is that in 1957 he attended the funeral of the Reverend Albert Edward Rose, Methodist minister at Heacham near Kings Lynn from before the war. He had presumably attended the Methodist chapel while posted in West Norfolk, indicating he was with the West Norfolk Scout Section.
4 Mar 1941 Posted to Y List
31 Mar 1941 Posted to 2 Holding Battalion. He remained there, moving between companies and in Jan 1942 was classified as Driver Internal Combustion Class III.
16 Jul 1942 Transferred to Royal Army Ordnance Corps and posted to No.4 Training Battalion Hackney. Successfully completed Basic Course as radio mechanic.
31 Jul 1942 Transferred to Royal Signals
4 Nov 1942 3 Trade Training Battalion, Whitby
18 Apr 1943 1 Trade Training Battalion, Catterick
21 May 1943 Posted to 1 War Office Signals Squadron. They provide secured communication to the War Office at Whitehall. He remained with them until 12 Mar 1946 when he was posted to the Y List again, presumably to start the demob process.
6 May 1946 He was discharged from the Army.
21 Sep 1944 Recorded as receiving accidental injuries