World War I Victoria Cross Recipient. He received the award from British King George V on September 11, 1918 at Buckingham palace in London, England for his actions as a lieutenant in the British Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on 9/10 May 1918 at the North Sea Port of Ostend, Belgium during the Second Ostend Raid of World War I. Born the third of seven sons in St. James Place, London, England, his father served in the British Royal Navy. He received his education at Evelyn's School in Middlesex, and Eton College and Christchurch in Oxford, England. In 1915, following the outbreak of World War I, he joined the British Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve as a lieutenant. In May 1918 he was commanding the Motor Launch 254 and during the Second Ostend Raid, he was seriously wounded when a shell hit the vessel as it was coming to the aid of the HMS Vindictive. His actions in rescuing crew members aboard the Vindictive won him the Victoria Cross for gallantry. Following the end of the war, he returned to his home in England but was unable to find employment that sustained his needs. In 1928 he moved to Australia with the intention of establishing a holiday resort on the west coast but when the plan fell through, he returned to England and took a job at the Imperial Chemical House in Millibank, London, England. When World War II broke out in September 1939, he attempted to re-enlist in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve but was deemed unfit for service. He then joined the River Emergency Services on the Thames and in July 1940 he transferred to the Royal Navy patrol Service as a second hand (or able seaman). Nine months later he was killed in a fall at the age of 55 in Rotherhithe, London. His Victoria Cross citation reads: "Lieut. Geoffrey H. Drummond, R.N.V.R. Volunteered for rescue work in command of M.L.254. Following "Vindictive" to Ostend, when off the piers a shell burst on board, killing Lieutenant Gordon Ross and Deckhand J. Thomas, wounding the coxswain, and also severely wounding Lieutenant Drummond in three places. Notwithstanding his wounds he remained on the bridge, navigated his vessel, which was already seriously damaged by shell fire, into Ostend harbour, placed her alongside "Vindictive," and took off two officers and thirty-eight men-some of whom were killed and many wounded while embarking. When informed that there was no one alive left on board he backed his vessel out clear of the piers before sinking exhausted from his wounds. When H.M.S. "Warwick" fell in with M.L. 254 off Ostend half an hour later the latter was in a sinking condition. It was due to the indomitable courage of this very gallant officer that the majority of the crew of the "Vindictive" were rescued. In addition to the Victoria Cross, he received the British War Medal (1914-20), the Victory Medal (1914-19, with Mentioned in Despatched oak leaf), the British War Medal (1939-1945), the King George VI Coronation Medal (1937), and the French Legion d'honneur. His Victoria Cross and other medals are on display at the Lord Ashcroft Gallery of the British Imperial War Museum in London, England.