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A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Drury, Henry

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1694864A Naval Biographical Dictionary — Drury, HenryWilliam Richard O'Byrne

DRURY. (Captain, 1841. f-p., 19; h-p., 29.)

Henry Drury is son of the late Mr. Drury, Ordnance Storekeeper at Cork; and nephew of Vice-Admiral Wm. O’Brien Drury, who distinguished himself in command of the Powerful in the action off Camperdown, as he had done on other occasions, and died Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies, 6 March, 1811.

This officer entered the Navy, 24 July, 1799, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board L’Engageante, guard-ship at Cork, bearing the flag of Sir Robt. Kingsmill; and, on next joining La Determinée frigate, armée en flûte, Capt. Alex. Becher, was wrecked, off Jersey, 24 March, 1803. Between the latter date and his promotion to the rank of Lieutenant, which took place 14 Sept. 1807, he further served, as Midshipman, on the Channel, Mediterranean, and Irish stations, in the Dreadnought and Neptune 98’s, Capts. Edw. Brace and W. O’B. Drury, Fisgard 38, Capt. Lord Mark Robt. Kerr, and Dryad 36, Capt. Adam Drummond. He then joined the Monmouth 64, bearing his uncle’s flag in the East Indies; and, after a brief attachment to three other ships (the Cornwallis 50, Capt. Fleetwood Pellew, Russel 74, Capt. Thos. Gordon Caulfeild, and Fox 32, Capt. Henry Hart), was successively invested with the acting-command, in 1810-11, of the Hesper sloop, Minden 74, and Akbar 50 – the latter employed in the hostilities against Java. Capt. Drury, whose second promotal commission bears date 10 Sept. 1811, was subsequently appointed, for the usual period of three years – 10 June, 1831, to the Coast Guard – and, 1 Aug. 1836, to the Victory 104, Capt. Thos. Searle, guard-ship at Portsmouth. Since the date of his Post-promotion, 23 Nov. 1841, he has been on half-pay.

He is married, and has issue eleven children. Agents – Messrs. Chard.