DREW, Conway Lovett
| Service Number: | 45 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry |
| Born: | Queensland, Australia, 24 November 1874 |
| Home Town: | Gympie, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Boxing Trainer, Publican, Author, Journalist |
| Died: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 5 January 1942, aged 67 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Rookwood Cemeteries & Crematorium, New South Wales Catholic Cemetery Plot- Sect. M2 Row 14 Plot 3350 |
| Memorials: | Brisbane Grammar School Boer War Honour Board |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Private, 45, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Nov 1899: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 45, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 448 notes 1st QMI embarked 1 Nov 1899 aboard Cornwall arriving Cape Town 13 Dec 1899. | |
| 23 Jan 1901: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 45, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 449 notes 1st QMI embarked 13 Dec 1900 returning to Australia aboard Orient arriving Brisbane 17 Jan 1901, disbanded 23 Jan 1901. |
Help us honour Conway Lovett Drew's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Claude McKelvey
Note- his full name was Conway Hovenden Lovett Drew. He maintained a diary during his Boer War service which is now held by State Library Qld who have digitised it and made it available to view online by searching the above name on their catalogue.
When Conway Lovett Drew enlisted in 1899 with the 1st QMI and his details were published with the rank and file in The Brisbane Courier, 18 Nov 1899, he was recorded as C. L. Drew, single, Waterworks, Gympie. In the Boer War Service Paybooks for the 1st QMI, Bk 1 p. 37, it is noted that like a number of men he was seconded to the South African Police between 19 Jun 1900 and 2 Aug 1900. He served the full tour of the 1st QMI returning aborad the Orient to Brisbane where he was discharged on 23 Jan 1901.
Conway Hovenden Lovett Drew was born on 24 Nov 1874 in Queensland, a son to William Leworthy Goode Drew and Gertrude Jane Drew (nee Hely). His father was a high ranking public servant firstly in NSW and then in Qld. Not long after returning from the war Conway married Amelia Power on 25 Nov 1901 in Queensland.
Conway made a name for himself as a boxing trainer and by 1907 they were resident in Sydney where he had a brief stint as the publican of Kelso's Hotel in Oxford Street. His enduring passion though was in writing as an author, playwright and journalist. His authored books included "The Grafter", "Jinker, The Grafter's Mate", "Reminiscences of Dick Gilbert", "The Doings Of Dave", "Rogues And Ruses", "Fringe Of The Underworld", and "A Sydney Harbour Beachcomber". As a journalist he wrote for "Punch", "The Bulletin", "The Surf", and "The Sun".
(source- AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, Murray p. 451; National Archives Australia- Boer War Dossier; Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 1st QMI, Bk 1 p. 37; Australian Boer War Memorial- dadabase bio; Obituary: Death Of "Con" Drew- The Sun, 3 Jan 1942, p. 2; Qld State Library- Conway Hovenden Lovett Drew war diary).