James Sidney Drewry (1883 – 14 December 1952) was a British engineer, born in Clapton, London.

Family history

James Sidney Drewry was the son of Charles Stewart Drewry and Julia Fava Wood. He married Mabel May Hyde and they had two daughters, Barbara and Christine. The artist

Yvonne Drewry Yvonne Drewry (18 February 1918 – 9 August 2007) was an English artist and art teacher, noted for her work in and around Suffolk. Early life and education Yvonne Marjorie Drewry was born in Brentford, Middlesex, to Alfred F. Vere Drewry (1888 ...

was his niece.

Career

J. S. Drewry claimed to be the originator of the

petrol Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...

railcar A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a drive ...

, having built his first machine at

Teddington Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long m ...

in 1902. He founded the

Drewry Car Co. The Drewry Car Co was a railway locomotive and railcar manufacturer and sales organisation from 1906 to 1984. At the start and the end of its life it built its own products, for the rest of the time it sold vehicles manufactured by sub-contract ...

in 1906 with his father Charles Stewart Drewry. By 1910, Drewry was working for the Lacre Motor Company at

Letchworth Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 33,249. Letchworth ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. In 1922, Drewry, together with

Harry Shelvoke Harry Shelvoke (1877–1962) was one of the founding members of the British coachbuilding and engineering company Shelvoke and Drewry. He was one of the last members to bear a family name that is documented to have become extinct in modern times ...

(another Lacre employee) set up the firm of

Shelvoke and Drewry Shelvoke and Drewry was a Letchworth, Hertfordshire manufacturer of special purpose commercial vehicles. It was best known for its innovative waste collection vehicles that were the preferred choice of municipal authorities in the UK together w ...

to manufacture road vehicles. He remained at Shelvoke and Drewry until 1936. He held over 60 patents, in his name, or jointly with others, for engineering inventions. James Sidney Drewry died at Letchworth, Hertfordshire on 14 December 1952.

External links

Brief biography of James Sidney Drewry

British automotive engineers British automotive pioneers 1883 births 1952 deaths 20th-century British inventors Engineers from London People from Hackney, London {{UK-engineer-stub