[1] Born in Toronto, after Warr graduated from high school, he worked as an office clerk and hotel porter.
In 1938, he hitchhiked to Halifax, Nova Scotia and eventually stowed away on a passenger ship to England in the pursuit of a career in literature.
Warr gained a slight reputation after having various poems published with different British literary magazines and anthologies.
In 1941, he had 'Yet a Little Onwards', a collection of fourteen poems, published by Favil Press' 'Resurgam Younger Poets' series with.
A tribute issue of Contemporary Verse in October 1945 printed several of his poems alongside an article by Alan Crawley.