Lives of the First World War

Leonard was born around 1892, youngest of nine children of John and Anna Maria Warne. The 1901 census records they were farmers at Trelewack Farm, St Ewe, Cornwall, tenants of the Tremayne family. Leonard worked as a gardener at Heligan and left his name on the wall of the Thunderbox Room (gardeners’ toilet) at Heligan Gardens. Prior to enlistment he spent some time in Montreal, returning on the SS “Pretorian” on 8th December 1914.

Sapper 63694 Leonard Warne, Signal Service Training Centre, The Royal Engineers. Leonard joined the Royal Engineers at the end of 1914, performing a number of specialist roles i.e. construction of trenches, bridges and signals. His service records were destroyed. He landed in France 8th July 1915 and probably served on the Western Front until the summer of 1918 when he was wounded and transferred back to the military hospital in Devonport, Plymouth. Died of wounds 21st April 1920. The war service of The Gardeners of Heligan House is separately acknowledged in the Imperial War Museum’s register of war memorials. Visit www.ukniwm.org/63622 for further details. The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall, are still cultivated in the names of these past staff and are open daily except for Christmas Day.

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