Fred was a farm labourer from Shropshire. He had a wide repertoire of songs, some of which had been passed down to him and some of which he'd learned from his later contact with the folk scene. He was known (and sometimes parodied) for his cap - always worn to one side, and his habit of holding his hands together in front of him - sometimes lterally "cap in hands". For many years he gave the impression that he was rather older than he actually was. He was a regular at many festivals - especially Bromyard (where I'm sure that there will be some sort of memorative proceedings this year).

Songs that I will remember him for include "The Farmer's Boy", "The Banks of Sweet Primroses", "The Volunteer Organist" and his rather bawdy "It won't last very, very Long".