James Syme Drew
Colonel to the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders
Major-General Sir James Syme Drew, (1 September 1883 – 27 June 1955) was a decorated British Army officer who saw service during both the world wars. He served as aide-de-camp to the King, commanded the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division, was colonel to the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, and became director-general of the Home Guard and Territorial Army.
Early life
James Syme Drew was born on 1 September 1883 in Manchester, England, the youngest son of Thomas Auchterlonie Drew of Fallowfield, a master calico printer, and Elizabeth Beatrice Jane (née Syme), daughter of James Syme Esquire – manager of the British Linen Banking Company, Scotland. Although the Drew family was of Scottish ancestry (at least 6 generations on both sides) in the early 1870s Drew's grandfather, Alexander of Dalmonach and Blairmore relocated his printing business to Lowerhouse Printworks in Burnley, establishing offices in Glasgow and Manchester.
Drew's father Tom, who was a director of the family printing business in Burnley, settled in the suburbs of Manchester, at Oak House, Fallowfield.
Drew entered Harrow School in 1897, joining his elder brother, Alexander Southerland (1879–1970), at Mortons; House Master, Charles Colbeck of Lemmington (1847–1903). Whilst at Harrow, Drew engaged with a variety of sporting activities including swimming, football, hurdles, and high-jump.
In October 1899, Drew was promoted to lance-corporal in the school's Rifle Company. Drew's time at Harrow was cut short when he responded to his country's call for soldiers in late 1900.
Early military career
In January 1901, at the age of 17 years and 4 months, Drew was admitted to Sandhurst Royal Military College as an infantry officer cadet.
The public source identifies “James Syme Drew” as colonel to the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around James, Syme and Drew.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q19933365. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1883, 1955, 1897 and 1879.
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This entry incorporates text from “James Syme Drew” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.