First World War memorial room reopens at Castle Drogo

The team of staff and volunteers at Castle Drogo are pleased to re-open to the public the memorial room dedicated to Adrian Drewe, Julius and Francis Drewe’s eldest son and heir who was killed during the First World War.

The contents of the room were put in storage in December 2012 as part of the ongoing building project to make Castle Drogo watertight. The window was taken out to be refurbished and it is the first of 913 windows to be put back in situ.

House and Collections Manager, Lucinda Heron, said:

"As the room is a designated war memorial, it has been re-instated exactly as it was before. We felt it was particularly important to have the room open again this year with the centenary of the outbreak of WWI, not only because of the personal grief the family suffered with the loss of their eldest son, but also because the war had such a major impact on the building of the Castle."

Adrian Drewe was a Major in the Royal Garrison Artillery during the First World War and was killed at Ypres on the 12 July 1917, aged only 26 years. The family originally created the memorial room in their home at Wadhurst Hall in Sussex, but when they moved into Castle Drogo in 1928 the room was re-established and has remained in the same place ever since. It is a room much loved by everyone who knows Castle Drogo.