Samuel Wood Warwick

Born in Houghton le Spring in 1897, he enlisted in the 18th (Durham Pals) Battalion DLI in 1914, aged 16 years 10 months. He transferred to the 8th York & Lancaster Regiment in 1915 and fought on the Western Front, rising to the rank of Sergeant. In June 1917, he was bayoneted at Messines and, after recovering, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 20th Battalion DLI. He was again badly wounded in 1918 during the Battle of the Lys in 1918 and spent three years in hospital. In 1921, he joined the 9th Battalion DLI and, by 1946, was a Lieutenant Colonel.

In 1940, after just two day's training, he became the only bomb disposal officer in the North East of England. He was awarded the George Medal for defusing several bombs in Middlesbrough in June 1940.

Samuel Warwick died in 1981, aged 83 years.