[3] Richard was educated at Stowe School and served through World War II in the Royal Berkshire Regiment and the Coldstream Guards from 1939 to 1955.
Perceiving the loneliness of the people whom he was helping to be a particular problem, he spent his Army gratuity on buying a house which he invited some of them to share with him.
In his subsequent life he founded a number of charities which run care homes for the elderly, the disadvantaged, and those suffering from loneliness.
For this work he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1985, and in 2004 received a Beacon Prize for lifetime achievement.
[9] Near to the plaque, Orchard House, on Lower Road, Bermondsey, London Borough of Southwark, has the name Gomm carved in stone above the entrance way.