Commemorated on the Gunthorpe war memorial as well as in Brinton Church. Richard was living in Sharrington Lane, Gunthorpe at the time of enlistment and his family had lived in Sharrington. So why is he commemorated in Brinton?

Here though was another family with a double tragedy.

James Warnes married Sarah Kidd in 1868. They were to have 10 children and at the time of the 1911 census only one was still living at home. James (Kidd) was born 1868, Richard 1869, William 1871, Martha 1873, Elizabeth 1875, Henry 1877, Hannah 1879, John 1881, Sarah 1884 and Thomas Charles 1889. The later five children are all born in Sharrington. James was a warrener (maintained a rabbit warren) but in Kelly’s directory of 1908 is a fish hawker. To keep so many children fed and clothed he probably did a variety of jobs.

By 1911 only Thomas Charles is still at home and working as a coachman. All the others have left home and some have married.

Their son John has married Annie Elizabeth Triffitt in 1907. They are living in Front Street, South Creake. John enlisted in Norwich, Private 320567 the 12^th Battalion, Norfolk Regiment.

His brother Richard has also married. In 1897 to Emma Charlotte Pointer who was born in Swanton Novers to William and Mary. Emma already has a daughter born in 1892, Dora but she is not in the household during the 1911 census. Richard is shown as a gamekeeper; they have two sons at home, Richard born 1898 who is working feeding bullocks and Frederick born 1901. Emma’s father William is also with them.

Due to Richard senior being over 41 years of age at the time of WW1 we must assume it is his son Richard who enlists in Norwich. His enlistment papers states he is a resident of Gunthorpe and is employed as a warrener, like his grandfather. Corporal 18119 he was in the 7^th Battalion, Norfolk Regiment, 12^th division.

The 7th (Service) Battalion was formed in August 1914 in Norwich as part of the First New Army and moved to Shorncliffe, Kent to join the 35th Brigade of the 12th Division. In January 1915 they moved along the Kent coast to New Romney and Littlestone before going to Malplaquet Barracks, Aldershot in February 1915.
 On 31^st May1915 they were mobilised for war and landed at Boulogne engaging in various actions on the Western Front including;
1915 The Battle of Loos.
1916 The Battle of Albert, The Battle of Pozieres, The Battle of Le Transloy. 
1917 The First Battle of the Scarpe, The Battle of Arleux, The Third Battle of the Scarpe, The Cambrai operations.
1918 The Battle of Bapaume, The First Battle of Arras 1918, The Battle of Amiens, The Battle of Albert, The Battle of Epehy, The Final Advance in Artois. 

But what was it like for these men ‘doing their duty for King and Country’?

A typical battalion spent perhaps only 5-10 days in a year in intensive action; they would also spend 60-100 days in front-line trench activities without being in action, with the rest of the time being in reserve or at rest, both of which entailed continual effort on fatigues or training. Most men carried a rifle – which for the regular battalions was the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE) and were also armed with the sword-bayonet.

The body of the company was divided into 4 Platoons, each of which was commanded by a Lieutenant or Second Lieutenant. In total, the 4 Platoons consisted of 8 Sergeants, 10 Corporals, 4 Drummers, 4 Batmen and 188 Privates. Each Platoon was further subdivided into 4 Sections, each of 12 men under an NCO (non commissioned officer). So the day to day “home” for most of the men, and the unit with which they most closely identified, was their Section. They would receive orders from their Section Corporal or their Platoon sergeant. 

As a Corporal (NCO) Richard would have about 12 men under him. It was in this rank that he died ‘killed in action’ 26^th March 1916. He is buried in Vermelles British Cemetery.

John, his uncle, was ‘killed in action’ two years later, 19^th August 1918. He too is buried in France at Le Grand Hasard Military Cemetery, Morbecque. He is honoured on the South Creake War Memorial.