Edward Druitt
Born(1859-04-19)19 April 1859
Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England
Died25 July 1922(1922-07-25) (aged 63)
Edinburgh, Scotland
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1878–1900
RankLieutenant Colonel
UnitRoyal Engineers
RelationsMontague Druitt
Other workRailway inspector

Lieutenant Colonel Edward Druitt (19 April 1859 – 25 July 1922)[1] was a British military engineering officer principally known as an inspecting officer of the Railways Inspectorate in the early twentieth century.

Early life and family

Edward Druitt was born in Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England. He was from an upper-middle-class background and the third son and fourth child of prominent local surgeon William Druitt, and his wife Ann (née Harvey). William Druitt was a justice of the peace, a governor of the local grammar school, and a regular worshipper at the local Anglican church, the Minster.[2] The Druitts lived at Westfield House, which was the largest house in the town, and set in its own grounds with stables and servants' cottages.[3] Druitt had six brothers and sisters,[2] including an elder brothers William who entered the practice of law, and Montague who was a barrister and historically was suspected of being Jack the Ripper.[4]

Cheltenham College chapel and library
Cheltenham College chapel and library

Druitt's father died suddenly from a heart attack in September 1885, leaving an estate valued at £16,579 (equivalent to £1,905,000 today).[5][6]

Druitt converted to Catholicism whilst based with the army at Chatham in February 1887. In February 1889 he married Christina-Mary-Filumea Weld, the eldest daughter of Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld a prominent Catholic family in the West Country.

Career

A burning carriage in the aftermath of the Quintinshill rail accident, 22 May 1915

Druitt studied at Cheltenham College and the Royal Military Academy Woolwich. After graduating, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in 1878, captain in 1883, major in 1896 and finally lieutenant colonel in 1904.[7]

His service as a military engineer included work in Australia in the 1890s where he designed and supervised the construction of Kissing Point Fortification and Green Hill Fort.

After Druitt's return to England after his Australian service, he eventually retired from the Royal Engineers around 1900 and moved to Edinburgh where he was a railway inspector for the rest of his working life. In his nearly 20-year career with the Railway Inspectorate Druitt investigated over 130 railway accidents, generally in Scotland.[8] Druitt's most notable investigation was of the accident at Quintinshill on 22 May 1916 which remains the worst railway accident in British history with 227 fatalities.[9]

Death

Druitt died at the Craig House (at the time knowns as the Royal Edinburgh Asylum) in Edinburgh, Scotland on 25 July 1922. According to his death certificate he had been suffering from diabetes for four years at the time of his death.[10]

References

Notes
  1. ↑ "Archive, Cricket Ireland". Cricket Ireland. 26 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 Cullen, p. 224; Leighton, pp. 10–12
  3. ↑ Cullen, p. 224; Leighton, pp. 10–12; McDonald, p. 80
  4. ↑ Leighton, pp. 13, 31; McDonald, p. 80
  5. ↑ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  6. ↑ Cullen, p. 227; Leighton, pp. 43–44; McDonald, p. 90
  7. ↑ "(82) - Army lists > Hart's Army Lists > Hart's annual army list, militia list, and imperial yeomanry list > 1907 - British Military lists - National Library of Scotland". digital.nls.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  8. ↑ "Document Archive :: The Railways Archive". www.railwaysarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  9. ↑ "Accident Returns: Extract for Accident at Quintinshill on 22 May 1915 :: The Railways Archive". www.railwaysarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  10. ↑ "Find your Scottish ancestors | ScotlandsPeople". www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
Sources
  • Druitt, Lt Col E (17 June 1915). Accident at Quintinshill on 22 May 1915 (PDF) (Report). Board of Trade. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  • Cullen, Tom (1965) Autumn of Terror. London: The Bodley Head.
  • Leighton, D. J. (2006) Ripper Suspect: The Secret Lives of Montague Druitt. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7509-4329-1
  • McDonald, Deborah (2007) The Prince, His Tutor and the Ripper. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Co. ISBN 978-0-7864-3018-5
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