Charles Drury

Brigadier-General Charles Mills "Bud" Drury, PC, OC, CBE, DSO, QC (17 May 1912 – 12 January 1991) was a Canadian military officer, lawyer, civil servant, businessman and politician.[2]

For the Ontario MPP and cabinet minister, see Charles Alfred Drury. For the Canadian Royal Navy admiral, see Charles Carter Drury. For the British priest, see Charles Drury (priest).

Brigadier-General the Honourable
Charles Mills Drury
PC OC CBE DSO QC
Member of Parliament
for Westmount
In office
25 June 1968 – 26 January 1978
Preceded byDistrict created in 1966
Succeeded byDon Johnston
Member of Parliament
for Saint-Antoine—Westmount
In office
18 June 1962 – 24 June 1968
Preceded byA. Ross Webster
Succeeded byDistrict abolished in 1966
Personal details
Born(1912-05-17)17 May 1912
Westmount, Quebec, Canada
Died12 January 1991(1991-01-12) (aged 78)
Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
Political partyLiberal
SpouseJane Ferrier Counsell[1]
Children4
AwardsOrder of Canada
Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Service Order
Military service
Allegiance Canada
Branch/service Canadian Army
Years of service1933–1970
Rank Brigadier-General
UnitRoyal Canadian Artillery
Commands4th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
Battles/warsWorld War II

Early life and education

Born in Westmount, Quebec, he was the elder son of Victor Montague Drury (1884–1962), a prominent businessman who was the son of Major-General Charles William Drury (1856–1913) and the brother-in-law of Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook.[3] He was educated at Selwyn House School and Bishop's College School,[4] and he later attended the Royal Military College of Canada, McGill University (B.C.L., 1936) and the University of Paris.[5]

Career

Drury served in the Canadian Armed Forces from 1933 to 1936,[6] then he practiced law from 1936 to 1939.[5] During World War II, he was a Canadian Army officer and from March−July 1944 commanded the 4th Field Regiment of the Royal Canadian Artillery, part of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, which took part in Operation Overlord, before being made the 2nd Division's General Staff Officer Grade 1 (GSO1) and later becoming the Commander, Royal Artillery (CRA) of the 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division.[7] He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General in 1945.[6] After the war, he headed the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration mission in Poland from 1945 to 1947.[5]

He then entered the Canadian civil service and was appointed as deputy minister of the Department of National Defence from 1949 to 1955.[6] He spent 1955 to 1962 working on private family business before running for election to the House of Commons of Canada.[5]

Drury was elected as a Liberal party Member of Parliament (MP) for the Montreal riding of Saint-Antoine—Westmount (later Westmount) in the 1962 federal election. He was re-elected in the 1963, 1965, 1968, 1972 and 1974 elections.

He held many ministerial positions in the governments of prime ministers Lester Pearson and Pierre Trudeau, including Defence Production, Industry, Trade and Commerce, Treasury Board, National Defence (acting), Public Works and Finance (acting).[6]

After leaving politics in 1978, Drury became chairman of the National Capital Commission from 1978 to 1984. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1980.[8]

Electoral record (partial)
1974 Canadian federal election: Westmount
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalCharles Drury20,81657.61
Progressive ConservativeMichael Meighen11,57532.03
New DemocraticPeter P. Berlow3,1408.69
Social CreditJoseph Ranger4121.14
Marxist–LeninistLawrence Tansey1900.53
Total valid votes 36,133 100.00
Total rejected ballots 994
Turnout 37,127 71.96
Electors on the lists 51,592

References
  1. BGen Charles Drury, The Canada Veterans Hall of Valour.
  2. Charles Mills Drury, The Canadian Encyclopedia.
  3. William Fong (24 October 2008). J.W. McConnell: Financier, Philanthropist, Patriot. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. p. 441. ISBN 978-0-7735-7468-7.
  4. Selwyn House School Yearbook 1950
  5. "Charles M. Drury" (PDF). Office of Central Reference. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  6. The Hon. Charles Drury, Parliament of Canada biography.
  7. "Biography of Brigadier Charles Mills Drury (1912 – 1991), Canada".
  8. Office of the Governor General of Canada. Order of Canada citation. Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
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