Hubert Lindsell Richards was born in Solihull, Warwickshire, on 6th December 1876. He was a son of William and Fanny Richards and his father was a Hardware Merchant. He set up a glasshouse nursery in Wickhamford in 1906/07 to grow flowers and fruit. In 1911 he was a boarder at Rosebank, Pitchers Hill. He sold the nursery in about 1915 and joined the British Army – British Red Cross Society Volunteers. He enlisted in this organisation in May 1916 as an Assistant Commandant at Barford Hill Hospital, Warwick. He also worked at Brabyns Hall, Marple Bridge, an Auxiliary Military Hospital. His original Commission was in the Red Cross Cheshire Branch. A Commandant was responsible for the non-medical administration of a hospital.
By 1918 he was a Quartermaster, living at ‘The Club’, Evesham, and still working as the War ended in November 1918. His duties included the handling of War Office papers and other administrative matters.
Hubert Richards occupation for most of his life was as a timber merchant’s clerk; he never married.