Freddie was a native of Grimsby and the son of Frederick William and Gertrude Evelyn née Brunton.
He started work as a salesman and was eventually promoted to manager of New Swift International, a fire equipment company.
He married Elsie Stennet in June 1939 and celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1989 in the W.A.D.E. day centre. They had a son, Martin and daughter, Jane. The family moved to Wokingham in 1967.
At the end of his first mayoral term Freddie presented the council with a pair of silver candelabra and, at the end of the second, a barometer. The third time he was elected Mayor in 1995 he lost his seat to the Liberal Democrats by three votes and was replaced by Ann Davis.
In addition to his civic duties Freddie was chairman of W.A.D.E. fund-raising committee; president of Wokingham Royal National Lifeboat Institution and a member of Wokingham Town Twinning organisation. He also helped to restart the Wokingham Hospital branch of the League of Friends. He was involved with St. Crispin’s School for nearly twenty-two years and served as chairman of the Parent Teachers’ Association and chairman of the governing board. He was also a governor of Wescott County Infants and Westende Junior Schools.
Frederick passed away on 16th October 2017 having celebrated his 100th birthday the previous year. A full civic funeral was held at All Saints Church in Wokingham.
Wokingham Town Museum Unique Identifier: WTH0083