Richard Warnes

The shoemaker who fought at the battle of Waterloo

Until the last century the majority of the population had to walk everywhere, so it's no surprise that Tasburgh had its share of shoe and bootmakers. One of them was Richard Warnes who was born in Wymondham in 1793. His wife Sarah had been born in Tasburgh which is where they chose to bring up their family, their eldest, also called Richard, being born in 1823 followed by George, Hebron and three daughters. The 1841 census records him as a shoemaker, living in part of what is now Commerce House on Low Road but which at the time was divided into two properties. Ten years later, both George and Hebron were also working as shoemakers with their father but by the time of the next census in 1861 Richard was working on his own again, when in addition to being described as a cordwainer, or master shoemaker, he was also referred to as a 67 year old Chelsea pensioner.

These days we think of Chelsea Pensioners as the red coated ex-service men and women who live in the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, but until 1955 all army pensions were administered and paid from the Royal Hospital. Describing Richard Warnes as a Chelsea pensioner therefore simply reflected the fact that he had an army pension, so we know he must have been a soldier in his early life. By 1871 he and his wife had moved from Tasburgh, possibly to Framingham Pigot as that was where Sarah was buried following her death in 1875, but by 1881 he had returned to the village and was living in Poppy Cottage on Low Road. The census that year also showed that he had got remarried to a local lady from the village by the name of Ann, who at 71 was probably a widow. More significantly however, he was described as being a Waterloo pensioner, proving that not only had he served as a soldier but that aged 18, he had been present at the battle of Waterloo, helping the Duke of Wellington to defeat Napoleon Bonaparte. Richard Warnes died in 1886 at the ripe old age of 93 and was buried at St. Mary's, Long Stratton.