He was from an upper-middle-class background and the third son and fourth child of prominent local surgeon William Druitt, and his wife Ann (née Harvey).

[4] Druitt's father died suddenly from a heart attack in September 1885, leaving an estate valued at £16,579 (equivalent to £2,262,000 today).

Druitt studied at Cheltenham College and the Royal Military Academy Woolwich.

[7] His service as a military engineer included work in Australia in the 1890s where he designed and supervised the construction of Kissing Point Fortification and Green Hill Fort.

After Druitt's return to England after his Australian service, he eventually retired from the Royal Engineers around 1900 and moved to Edinburgh where he was a railway inspector for the rest of his working life.