Lieutenant-General Sir Drury Curzon Drury-Lowe (3 January 1830 – 6 April 1908) was a British Army officer.

Biography

He was born as Drury Curzon Holden on 3 January 1830 at Aston Lodge in Aston-on-Trent when he was called Drury Curzon Holden. His father was William Drury Holden and he changed his name to Lowe when he inherited the Locko Park inheritance. He was educated privately at his home, Locko Park, near Spondon in Derbyshire, before gaining a baccalaureate at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He joined the

17th Lancers The 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1759 and notable for its participation in the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. The regiment was amalgamated with the 21st Lanc ...

in 1854 as a

Cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

. He was commissioned a Lieutenant in November 1854 and Captain in November 1856. He served in the Crimean War at the

Battle of Chernaya River The Battle of the Chernaya (also Tchernaïa; Russian: Сражение у Черной речки, Сражение у реки Черной, literally: Battle of the Black River) was a battle by the Chyornaya River fought during the Crimea ...

and was at the Siege of Sevastopol when it fell. He also saw service in the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

in 1858–59. He purchased a commission as Major in 1862, and was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel of the 17th Lancers in 1866. Sometime between 1862 and 1867, he assumed the surname Drury-Lowe in place of Lowe. Drury-Lowe commanded the 17th Lancers for 12 years – most notably at the

Battle of Ulundi The Battle of Ulundi took place at the Zulu capital of Ulundi (Zulu:''oNdini'') on 4 July 1879 and was the last major battle of the Anglo-Zulu War. The British army broke the military power of the Zulu nation by defeating the main Zulu army ...

, the last pitched battle of the Anglo-Zulu War. On 5 June 1879, he led the 17th Lancers into battle with Zulu irregulars as part of the Zungeni Mountain skirmish, during which his adjutant, Frederick John Cokayne Frith, was killed and the British had to withdraw. According to Private Miles Gissop, who served in the regiment, Drury-Lowe claimed: "You are all right men. You are all right, they are aiming over your heads" only a moment before a Zulu bullet struck Frith in the heart. Drury-Lowe was appointed

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

in 1879. In the

1882 Anglo-Egyptian War The British conquest of Egypt (1882), also known as Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. It ...

, he received the surrender of Urabi Pasha. He was publicly thanked in the House of Commons, and knighted on 18 November 1882. He was Inspector of Cavalry at Aldershot from 1885 to 1890. He was promoted to Lieutenant-General in 1890. He became Colonel of the 17th Lancers in 1892.

Last years

Drury-Lowe retired in 1895 and was awarded the

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

, and then resided at Keydell House, Horndean, occasionally writing to '' The Times''. He died on 6 April 1908; his widow died on 17 January 1931.''Havant Museum, Local History Collection, Horndean Collection, Vol 4 (Keydell)'' Autobiographical notebook of Margaret Strange, Keydell resident (Farmhouse) 1928–53.

Notes

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Drury-Lowe, Drury Curzon 1830 births 1908 deaths Military personnel from Derbyshire 17th Lancers officers People from Aston-on-Trent Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford British Army lieutenant generals Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath British Army personnel of the Crimean War British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 British Army personnel of the Anglo-Zulu War British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War People from Horndean