Frederick Townsend, fondly known as Fred, was born in Hemel Hempstead on Wednesday, 14th September 1887 and baptised a month later on Wednesday, 19th October along with his older sister Clara. He was second son and third child born to William Townsend and Jane Hughes (nee. Sullivan). Jane was from Arundel, Sussex and had married George Hughes in 1873 before having three children, George, William and Lucy. Following George’s death in 1878, Jane married Hemel native William Townsend and they had five children together; Harry, Clara, Frederick, Sidney, Maud and Hetty (Ethel). The family lived on or around the High Street in Hemel Hempstead, initially on Cherry Bounce, then at Keen’s Place and finally at 70 High Street for over twenty years.

Fred’s father William worked as a bricklayer, but the family’s financial circumstances were clearly difficult. In the 1890s with a young family of seven, all of school age, his son Fred is recorded in the Queen Street School Log on the 31st January 1895. Fred is on “A list of children who are seven years old but not examined in Standard I”, which he would be expected to complete at this age, and the reason for this is given as “badly fed”. It seems that his bricklayer father’s meagre wages meant that there was insufficient food around this time, to ensure that all the young children had adequate nourishment.

However, by 1901 conditions appear to have improved and the three oldest children, including thirteen-year-old Fred, who worked as an Errand Boy, were bringing in a weekly wage and the family had moved to 70 High Street. Ten years later in 1911 Fred had started work with his father as a Bricklayer’s Labourer.

On the outbreak of war Fred enlisted with the 6th Bedfordshire Regiment, attesting at Hemel Hempstead in August 1914. He was one of the first fifteen men to join the Colours when the recruiting office opened in Hemel Hempstead, a fact reported in the Hemel Gazette. 

The 6th Battalion was a ‘Service’ battalion, raised as a part of 'K1' - Lord Kitchener's first call to arms for 100,000 men. Initially attached to the 9th (Scottish) Division at Aldershot whilst training, it was moved to join the 37th Division at Andover before training on Salisbury Plain, where it was transferred into the 112th Brigade.

By April 1915, Fred was at Cholderton, near Salisbury where he completed his basic training before being sent to France. He disembarked at Le Havre on the 30th July 1915 and by early September he was in the trenches at Foncquevillers. He would remain in this area for the next eight months until he was killed.

On the 3rd May 1916, the 6th Battalion took over trenches at Monchy-au-Bois and the War Diary succinctly records the events of the following day: "4 May 1916 Intense hostile bombardment followed by raid at 3 am (66 casualties & 8 missing)". Fred was one of the casualties listed and he was taken to 19 Casualty Clearing Station at Beauval north of Amiens where, despite treatment, he sadly died of his wounds on the 5th May 1916.

A few weeks later his family received a letter from the Revd. J.H. Kidd describing Fred’s funeral and his grave and this was published in the Hemel Gazette at the start of June. The report incorrectly stated Fred’s battalion as the 1st Beds rather than the 6th. 

Fred is Remembered with Honour in the Doullens Communal Cemetery Extension No.1, Somme, France where he is interred in Grave I.D.7.

He was 28 years old when he died.

Fred was eligible for the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal.