One man whose enterprise has helped in the progress and prosperity of Bourne despite humble beginnings was Lorenzo Warner. He started his working life as a newspaper delivery boy but the business he founded continues today as Warners Midlands p l c, one of the most prestigious printing companies in this part of Britain and still run as a family concern.

His father, also Lorenzo, was recalled for service with the Royal Navy during the war but money was short at home and so Lorry helped support the family and tried to take his father's place while he was away. These were times of real shortages and the children often went hungry and without decent shoes and clothing. When his father returned after the Armistice, Lorry suggested that he follow his example and join the Royal Navy but he was turned down as unsuitable. Instead, in 1919, he began delivering newspapers for W H Smith to homes in the surrounding villages of Morton, Edenham and Grimsthorpe, a journey that involved a daily cycle ride of 14 miles but despite this onerous task, he felt he could do more and so, with the help of his sister Lily and his younger brother Ernest, he started an additional enterprise by selling rabbits shot in the locality to a firm of game suppliers based in Leicester. The only way they could deliver the dead rabbits was by collecting them from the various farms, hanging them on the handlebars of the bicycles and pedalling to the railway station at Morton where they were packed into baskets and put on to the Leicester-bound train.

The depression that followed the war affected many families and Lorry's father lost his job at Grimsthorpe. He helped for a while with the newspaper deliveries but one day, he left home abruptly, leaving a brief note explaining that he had gone away to find work but he never returned. Lorry was 20 years old and confessed later that he felt deserted.

But his partnership with brother Ernest flourished and Lorry eventually decided that there was more money to be made from newspapers than from rabbits but this too could become more lucrative if he became a distributor himself rather than work for W H Smith and soon he was collecting the newspapers from Essendine, the nearest station on the main line from London, and ensuring that they were delivered well ahead of those from their competitors. The venture started with a weekly turnover of 3s. 9d., working from 4 a m to 7 p m, but the hard work brought its rewards and soon a shop was opened in Bourne and a second at 53 High Street, Stamford, acquired from Greaves and Co in 1925, and by 1927, Warners (Midlands) Ltd was born. The first shop in Abbey Road soon became too small for the business and in 1926, he bought the business of R M Smith and Co at 13 West Street, Bourne, so acquiring larger premises with a printing works at the rear. Ernest, however, decided to emigrate to Canada in September 1928, leaving Lorry to run the business himself and it has thrived ever since. 

The printing section became so successful that his son Michael joined the company to take over those interests and under his guidance, the business slowly expanded until there was insufficient room in the old West Street premises, even though they had been extended. The newsagent's shop at Stamford was sold to a regional chain, John Menzies (Southern) Ltd in April 1965, and in March 1968, both the wholesale and retail business in Bourne was bought by the same firm. By this time, Michael had become managing director but Lorry, who was then 67, remained chairman and consultant, claiming the record as the longest serving newspaper wholesaler in Britain over a period of 48 years and vowing to spend his forthcoming retirement visiting all of the county cricket grounds which work had prevented him from doing previously.

Constant improvements were made to the printing works in West Street but expansion was inevitable and in 1973-74, the company bought the Old Maltings further along the street where the latest technology and machinery was installed, a programme of improvement that has continued ever since while the newspaper business was sold off in 1966 to allow the firm concentrate on its emerging business.

Lorry continued with his active life until well into his eighties and was busy at the works most days. He was also a life-long member of the Methodist Church and served as a trustee to many local chapels and was for a number of years a circuit steward of the church in Bourne. He attributed much of his success to his faith and the influence on his life of the many Methodists he had met over the years. He had married Edna Ploughright, a local girl who had come to work for him, at Bourne Methodist Church on 4th March 1936 and their marriage was long and successful. He also took an interest in sport as patron of Bourne Cricket Club and in local affairs and in 1960, he was elected as a member of Bourne Urban District Council and became chairman for the year 1970-71.

In 1989, he published his biography Born With The Century, a wide-eyed and innocent appraisal of his life written sympathetically by Anne Frazer Simpson. Copies can still be found in second-hand bookshops, mostly with the author's signature because he was always happy to attend book signings in local shops or the public library to achieve a greater readership. In it, he reveals that his name was actually Worner but the "o" was changed to an "a" when they opened their first bank account soon after the Great War of 1914-18 because it sounded too German and anti-war feelings were strong in this country. 

Major extensions to the premises were opened in November 1989 and new equipment was added at a total cost of £4 million by which time the firm had established a reputation for its high quality colour printing and many of Britain's leading magazines are printed by them. The firm then had a turnover of £10 million a year but still rising, employing 180 staff and producing 120 magazine titles on its five-acre site in West Street. The company is still owned by the family with a third generation of Warners in managerial positions.

Lorry, who lived at 109 North Road, Bourne, died suddenly on 15th February 1995 at the age of 94, a few days before he and Edna were due to celebrate their 59th wedding anniversary. The Abbey Church at Bourne was packed for his funeral service which was followed by cremation at Grantham. A friend, Terry Bates, summed up the mood of Bourne after the service: "Lorry was one of the best known people in the town. His contribution to the community was considerable in a variety of ways and he will be sadly missed." 

Edna Warner survives him and lives at the Cedars residential home for the elderly in Church Walk.

REVISED JUNE  2003

See also Warners Midlands plc     The Corn Exchange

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