Bapaume was adopted by the City of Sheffield in 1920. The Ecole Lawrence (a school) was opened on 9 July 1939 by the Lord Mayor of Sheffield Alderman W J Hunter JP as the 'Alderman Wardley Creche' to commemorate his work on behalf of the devastated town of Bapaume and was built through the generosity of Mr and Mrs George H Lawrence and citizens of Sheffield.

George Lawrence was a razor manufacturer with a factory in Nursery Street in Sheffield, who also donated funds for the building of Longley and Millhouses and Hathersage outdoor swimming pools, and as a director of Sheffield United Football Club, for the erection of the stand at Bramall Lane.

In 1940 he gave one million Laurel razors to the French troops and funds for the comfort of 1914-1918 French ex-servicemen. He was killed when his factory was destroyed by a bomb in the Sheffield Blitz. He had gone there to take food and drinks for the staff.