230552 Pte. William Frederick Drughorn British Army 10th (Stockbrokers) Batallion Royal Fusiliers from:Ifield Hall (d.15th July 1916) William Frederick Drughorn (b Rotterdam 8th July 1895) signed up, as a private, soon after war was declared on 4th August 1914, presumably in the City as he joined 10th (Stockbrokers) Battalion, service no STK76. By 21/8 there were 210 men rising to 1,600 by 27/8.
He was working for his father, (my great grandfather) John Frederick Drughorn (JFD), who was a prosperous shipowner (of Rhine barges) and shipbroker. Father and son had moved from Rotterdam c1901, Drughorn Senior abandoning a wife and a daughter but with his new companion and their four daughters plus William and two sons from the first marriage. Originally they lived in Beckenham together, had a house in Piccadilly and bought Ifield Hall c1913; I have his naturalisation certificate signed by Home Secretary Reginald McKenna. In 1915 JFD was prosecuted for trading with the enemy (probably stitched up by competitors) and fined 1/-; he lost all his Rhine barges to the Germans.
William was killed in action at Pozieres, Somme on 15th July 1916, aged just 21.
In 1922 his father, JFD, was knighted for his considerable charitable work but probably paid Lloyd George's honours broker Maundy Gregory a large sum of money for a baronetcy; that contributed to the collapse of the last ever Liberal government. Why he wanted a baronetcy is a mystery as all his sons were dead by 1922 (I assume he was trying to divorce his wife, who had lost an infant boy to meningitis in 1907 and expected his mistress to marry him and produce a son and heir - he was cited in a highly publicised divorce case); He had married his Dutch girl ((my great grandmother Elizabeth) only in 1906 presumably because the first wife held out for more money in Holland)). The first wife died in Sobibor within a few days of Sir John passing in his bed at Ifield aged 80 in 1943; the Dutch daughter and her husband survived Sobibor and Aushwitz to claim against the estate from 1945 to 1951 as he had left large estate. Two mistresses also claimed!!
William's death caused Lady Drughorn to live apart from Sir John, she in Beckenham and he at Ifield; JFD also had a love nest called the Wigwam in Gorleston on Sea where he built a golf course, still open. He also built Ifield golf course and was a great benefactor of Crawley. William is commemorated six times! His war grave at Pozieres Military Cemetery, the sundial that was at Ifield Hall is now in the family's possesion, on the war memorial in Ifield Church, on the war memorial plaque at The King's School Canterbury, on the Memorial gates to the park in Crawley town centre and on the gravestone of his three brothers (two who predeceased him and one who died in 1919) in Beckenham Cemetery.
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