Lieutenant-Colonel John Drummond
2nd Battalion, Royal Ulster Regiment

The award of the Distinguished Service Order to Lt-Colonel Drummond was a fitting conclusion to such an enterprise. Since he had taken command, the Battalion’s chain of successes had been unbroken, and now the campaign had been wound up in really superb style. This last operation had been at once the most spectacular and the most difficult that the Battalion had undertaken, and, without doubt, the completeness of the triumph was due largely to his bold plan and resolute leadership.

(D.S.O. citation, 14 Feb 1945)

Born on 17 February 1910 in County Tipperary, Ireland, John Drummond was commissioned with the Royal Ulster Rifles in 1931 and had prewar service in Hong Kong and Egypt. He was adjutant for the 2nd Battalion in the Battle of France, and after the Dunkirk evacuation became GSO 3 for X Corps. He was subsequently posted to the 1st Battalion, RUR as second-in-command. As part of 6th Airlanding Brigade in the 6th Airborne Division, the unit landed in France during the D-Day invasion.

Following heavy fighting in Normandy, the 6th Division withdrew to the United Kingdom in September. When it returned to action during the Ardennes offensive in December 1944, Drummond transferred to the 2nd Battalion, RUR. He replaced Lieutenant-Colonel “Tommy” Harris who had commanded the battalion for almost eighteen months. Meticulous and serious, he was nicknamed “Smiler” by the men for his often dour expression. By the end of the war in Europe, Drummond earned the D.S.O. for capturing a strongly defended bridge in Germany.

Following a postwar posting to Palestine, he commanded the 1st RUR in Hong Kong and then West Germany in the 1950s. He retired from the army in 1958 after commanding the 107th (Ulster) Independent Infantry Brigade.

Drummond died in September 1997.