Page 1. SD Enthusiasts' Club Magazine - Summer 2008.
JAMES DREWRY
His Patents and Inventions.
By The Editor.
As a young boy my imagination was captured by the idea of an "inventor." A man, and it always was a man, dressed in a white coat who could conjure up wonderful gadgets to make life easier for everyone.James Drewry was an inventor and had over 50 patents filed under his name. But these were the result of applying sound engineering principles to finding solutions to problems presented to him.
Drewry's earliest patent was filed in 1914 and his last in 1951 only a year before his death at the age of 70. The range of patents is quite remarkable. They include, as we would expect, the patents for various aspects of the SD Freighter filed in the joint names of Harry Shelvoke and James Drewry. But less expected are patents relating to rubber elevator buckets (1951), aircraft handling devices (1927 & 1928), improved methods for joining pipes, and improvements to the construction of cylinder heads for internal combustion engines.
This de-mountable platform for a Freighter demonstrated Drewry's approach to meeting customer's requirements.
Photo supplied by Malcolm Easton.
Drewry filed three patents relating to the design of trailers whilst at Hands Trailers from 1936, and later several patents concerning road sweepers whilst acting as a consultant to Lacre. The range of these patents gives an idea of the depth of James' engineering knowledge and his inventive mind which clearly remained active into old age.
It was unfortunate that the more dominant character of Harry Shelvoke is remembered as the driving force in S&D's success when it is evident that the inventive mind of James Drewry played an equal part in developing the company's products.
Further information on James Drewry is to be found on:- http://www.drewry.net/TreeMill/indiI066.html
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