George William Edwin Warner; Driver, Royal Engineers.

Lorries of the Royal Engineers on a dusty road in France. George Warner could have driven these. (IWM Q1084)

George William, the eldest son of Arthur and Gertrude Warner, was born in Fornham St Martin, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, on 16th January 1898. The family then moved to Melton around 1908, when Arthur became employed by Mrs Scott of Long Spring as a groom and gardener. The Warner family lived in the Lodge to the main house.

When George enlisted into the Essex Yeomanry, who were billeted in the village at the time, he was underage. He remained in the country undergoing training and once old enough to serve overseas, George was posted to France. He served as a driver in the Royal Engineers. For his war service, George received the British War and Victory Medals.

George married Lily Pipe in 1921 after he was discharged from the army. The couple had three children, a son and two daughters. In 1939, the family lived in Cumberland Street and George worked as a nursery carter on a small-holding. He died in 1949 and is buried in Woodbridge Cemetery.