Drax is a German agent posing throughout the novel as a British multi-millionaire war hero. His real name is Graf Hugo von der Drache .He has an English mother and a German father. As a child, he attended school in England and was teased and bullied badly by the British children. This caused a lifelong hatred of the British. His family owns a factory that makes metal for aircraft. There he learned about the metal Columbite, which is very strong and heat resistant, ideal for making rockets.