Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Sir Peter Roy Maxwell Drummond (1894-1945) KCB, DSO and Bar, OBE, MC, Twice Mentioned in Despatches, air force officer, was born on 2 June 1894 in Perth with the name Roy Maxwell Drummond. He was educated at Scotch College, Perth, young Drummond served in the cadets and passed the senior and higher public examinations set by the University of Adelaide. On 10 September 1914 he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force, giving his occupation as bank clerk. His slight build was deemed to preclude active service and in November he was posted to the 2nd Australian Stationary Hospital as a medical orderly. In December he embarked for the Middle East and by April 1915 was in a hospital ship off Gallipoli. He assisted surgeons who operated by candlelight in primitive conditions, and was struck by 'the ghastly sight' of the wounded. Suffering from dysentery and debility, he was evacuated to England where he was hospitalized. 

In December Drummond applied for a commission in the Royal Flying Corps and transferred on 14 April 1916 and appointed temporary second lieutenant. After flying-training in September he was attached as a pilot to No.67 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, based in Egypt. While serving with this unit, he won the Military Cross for an action in which he was engaged against six enemy aircraft; the citation noted his 'skill and courage on all occasions'. 

Promoted temporary captain, in October 1917 Drummond joined No.111 Squadron, R.F.C., which was equipped with Nieuports and S.E.5a's. In December he and his observer engaged three German fighters over Tul Keram, Palestine, and destroyed them all. Drummond was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. His single-handed fight against six enemy scouts in March 1918 resulted in the destruction of two and the award of a Bar to his D.S.O. From July he commanded No.145 Squadron, Royal Air Force. He was promoted acting major in September and mentioned in dispatches for the attacks he made on Turkish infantry next month. His seven-and-a-half confirmed 'kills' included six of the Albatros DV type. In August 1919 he received a permanent commission in the R.A.F. 

As acting squadron leader, in 1920 Drummond fought in south-eastern Sudan. Drummond returned to England and was appointed O.B.E. (1921). He graduated from the R.A.F. Staff College, then worked directly to Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh (Viscount) Trenchard at the Air Ministry. Between 1925 and 1929 Drummond was on loan to the Royal Australian Air Force, and was director of operations and intelligence at Headquarters in Melbourne. 

Back in England, in 1930 Drummond attended the Imperial Defence College, London. Next year he was promoted wing commander and given command of Tangmere, Sussex, an important fighter station in Britain's air-defence system While commanding R.A.F. Station, Northolt, Middlesex, in January 1937 he was promoted group captain. 

Drummond had risen to air commodore in 1940 and in January 1941 was promoted air vice marshal. In 1943 he was promoted to temporary Air Marshall. He was appointed C.B. in 1941, he was elevated to K.C.B. in 1943. He then formally took his nickname Peter—which he had acquired at Scotch College—as an additional Christian name. 

On 27 March 1945, en route to Canada, the Liberator in which he was travelling was lost near the Azores. The aircraft was never found: Drummond and its other occupants were presumed to have died that day.