Celebrating the history of George Green School in a poem

For nigh 150 years, the school was in Poplar,

The Iconic School, built of Red bricks,

That school was built in 1884,

Before moving to the Isle of Dogs in 1976.

But there was an earlier school built in Poplar,

Some 56 years before the 1884 date,

Just a short distance along the East India Dock road

George Green School on East India Dock Road in the 1930s (Image: Island History Trust Collection/ Bill Brown)

On the junction of Chrisp Street, built in 1828

But who was George Green, some may ask,

How did the school get its name,

Who was this man from history's recent past,

Who was this philanthropist of notable fame?

George Green was the Son of a Chelsea brewer,

Born in Cheshunt in the County of Hertfordshire

He was born on the 2nd of November,

To his Mother, Mary, nee Printzler, 1767 was the year.

George began his apprenticeship as a shipwright,

At Blackwall Yard, under John Perry, in 1782,

The biggest and most profitable of ship builders,

That the river Thames has ever known or even knew

In 1796, George married John Perry’s daughter, Sarah

Sad to say, the first 4 of their 5 children died,

The fifth child, Richard Green, born in 1803,

He was the only one of the five who survived.

George Warren has explored the move of George Green School from Poplar to the Isle of Dogs (Image: FoIHT)

From here on, the research gets a little vague,

Suffice to say, it is documented, so it can now be seen,

That, along with John Perry’s sons, George becomes a partner,

And Blackwall Yard is then known as Perry, Sons, & Green.

George Green died in 1849.

Two of his sons, Richard & Henry Green,

They formed a company together at Blackwall Yard,

Although involved in a couple of companies in between.

Richard was the son of Sarah (nee) Perry,

So Richard had a very, very good pedigree,

Richard Green inherited much from George, his father.

For he was a philanthropist and had done much for charity.

R&H Green, amalgamated with Silley Weir,

To become R&H Green & Silley Weir in 1910

Now the company was a ship repairer and not a builder,

Shipbuilding had long finished on the Thames back then.

This doesn’t end the story of George Green,

For his and his son’s legacy lives on,

Their legacy lived on in R&H Green and Silley Weir

Long after George and Richard Green had long gone.

• George Warren is a trustee and volunteer for Friends of Island History Trust 2026 (islandhistory.co.uk).