[1] He was 21 years old, and a corporal in the 8th Battalion, The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own), British Army during the First World War, and was awarded the VC for his actions on 23 November 1915, near La Brique, Belgium.

The patrol was discovered when close to the enemy who opened heavy fire with rifles and a machine gun, wounding the Officer and one man.

[1] His VC is on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum, London.

The officer rescued by Corporal Drake was Lieutenant Henry Tryon, also of the Rifle Brigade.

After Tryon recovered from his wounds, he returned to his former unit and was killed in action at Flers-Courcelette on 15 September 1916.