Drury Curzon Drury Lowe had a long and distinguished career in the British Army. He had been feted on a triumphal tour of England on his return from the Zulu Wars of 1879, at the age of 49, to his home in Aspley Guise, where he lived at "The Drive" on The Mount. In September 1879, local businessman Henry Down chaired a committee to welcome Colonel Drury Lowe home. Lowe had returned on the ‘Conway Castle’, which took three weeks to sail from Capetown. He had commanded the 17th Lancers, known as “Binghams Dandies”. After the massacre at Isandhlwana, which led to the defence of Rourke’s Drift, (immortalised in the 1964 Michael Caine film “Zulu”), the 17th Lancers were alerted at their base-camp in Leeds. Their commanding officer, Lt. Col. Thomas Gonne, shot himself in the foot during pistol practice the same day and Col. Lowe had been promoted. They left England with 622 men and 422 horses.

The 17th Lancers made a charge at the battle of Ulandi, which was their first action since the Crimea. Lowe had just ordered the charge, when he was struck on the back by a spent bullet, but it hit his leather belt and although it felled him from his horse, he quickly re-saddled and followed the charge that he should have led.

Henry Down had four 'Triumphal Arches' erected along the High Street by Goodall & Sons and the Fenny Stratford Brass Band were informed that they would be needed at the drop of a hat when word was received that the Colonel was due on the train. Members of the Woburn Rifle Volunteers and the Bucks Yeomanry formed the Guard of Honour and an honorary supper was held at the Swan Hotel.

Three years later, and General Drury Lowe was again in the headlines, after he commanded a cavalry division of the 7th Dragoons and three squadrons of Household Cavalry, which had been first to reach Cairo in the 1882 Egyptian War. A local revolt had taken place, and troops were sent to restore order. After victories at Kassassin and Tel El-Kebir, the cavalry was sent under cover of night to reach Cairo. They arrived at about 3a.m. and so surprised the remaining enemy, who were holding the city, that they surrendered immediately.

Drury Curzon Drury Lowe died in 1908. The Drury Lowe family archives are deposited in the Hallward Library at the University of Nottingham, where a scroll survives that the local dignitaries gave to Major Gen. Drury Lowe to congratulate him.

Transcription:

"To Major General Drury Curson Drury Lowe, C.B. Commander of the cavalry division of the Expeditionary force in Egypt.

Sir, we, the undersigned inhabitants of Woburn, Aspley Guise, Woburn Sands, Wavendon and Crawley beg leave to offer you our most cordial and respectful congratulations on your return from active service in Egypt.

As English citizens, we rejoice at the decisive and unqualified success which has attended the operations of Her Majesty’s forces.

As you friends and immediate neighbours, we regard with particular satisfaction the distinguished part in those operations which has fallen to your share. The whole campaign, glorious in all its aspects, contained no feature more striking than the march to Cairo made by the Cavalry under your command. Holding that march to be unsurpassed alike in brilliancy of its execution and the importance of its results, we are proud to reflect that your name will be inseparably associated with its renown.

With earnest hope that you and Mrs Drury Lowe may live to enjoy, in health and happiness, the honour which justly belongs to so conspicuous and so memorable an achievement.

We beg to subscribe ourselves, very faithfully yours,