Sam Elmer was the son of Samuel and Sarah (nee Stacey) Elmer.  He was born in 1890 and was the eighth of eleven children, nine surviving.  His brothers, Frederick (1879), Harry (1882), Frank (1884), Charles (1886) and William (1893) all fought in WWI, William being killed in action in September 1918.  His sisters were Edith (1880), Emma (1889) and Gladys (1896).

In 1907 his hand was crushed in an accident at work at Gadsby and Son, Higham Ferrers. A court case was brought against the company in 1908 but failed to gain any compensation for Samuel.

In 1915 Sam married Sarah Rich, from Souldrop, and in 1920 they had a son, William Horace Elmer.  They were living in Souldrop at the time, but the baby was christened at the Park Road Methodist Church.