Samuel was born in Ashwell, Hertfordshire on 28 February 1889 the fourth son of John George and Elizabeth Jane (nee Lester) Bonfield. He was a pupil at the Merchant Taylors School in Ashwell.
Frederick was the only son of Abraham and Elizabeth (nee Tapping) Walker, born in the 1st quarter 1889 at Caxton District, Cambridgeshire. At the age of 12 Frederick was living in Ashwell, Hertfordshire and was a pupil at the Merchant Taylors School in Ashwell.