Biography:
1. Frederick Drayson, the son of William and Ann Maria Drayson, was born at Waltham Abbey on the 14th July 1810, and wrote a Treatise on Gunpowder when he was only 20 years of age. (For further reading see Waltham Abbey Gunpowder People by P. J. Huggins)
2. Frederick's name does not appear further in the records relating to the Powder Mills at Waltham Abbey, but from his Treatise on Gunpowder, it could be supposed he possibly served as a 'superior apprentice' at some Manufactory or Establishment run by the Ordnance.
It is suggested that, perhaps, he followed in the footsteps of his contemporary, Henry Wright. They were both born at Waltham Abbey and their fathers worked at the Mills. Henry Wright, at the age of 16, trained under his uncle, Joseph, at the Tower of London in 1828 and was "time served" in 1834. If Frederick Drayson followed the same training he may, possibly, have joined Wright at the Tower in 1826, some 4 years' prior to publishing his Treatise. In addition, enough time would have elapsed for him to have become a skilled draughsman, in order to have produced the drawings in his Treatise, and to have learnt the basics of building construction, both in theory and the practical side.
