Gregory was born in Stoke Newington on 23rd November 1896 and he attended Ilford County High School between 14th September 1909 and 30th July 1913. He had been a pupil at Cleveland Road Elementary School. In 1913, he passed the Oxford Senior Local Examination and left education to become a bank clerk.
Gregory was the only son of GPO telegraph clerk and overseer, Gregory Drake and his wife, Annie. However, he had five younger sisters. The family lived in Second Avenue in 1901 but had moved to Rutland Road (also in Ilford) by 1909.
Gregory joined the 7th battalion of the 1st Duke of Cambridge (Middlesex) Regiment, enlisting in Ilford. His service number was TF/6472. He arrived in Le Havre, France in March 1915. His battalion was transferred to the 167th brigade of the 56th (London) Division in February 1916. He died, aged 19, on 16th September 1916, during the third phase of the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. As his body was not recovered, Gregory is listed amongst the dead on the Thiepval Memorial.
Research by Andrew Emeny, History Teacher at ICHS
Sources:
Ancestry.com
ICHS school records and magazines
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Note
Ilford County High School started life as the Park Higher Grade School in 1901 in Balfour Road, Ilford. It was renamed Ilford County High School (or initially County High School, Ilford) in the years after the school’s management was transferred from Ilford School Board to Essex Education Committee in 1904.