Fred Daniels, born on 4th November 1888, was admitted to King Edward’s School in January 1906, leaving only eleven months later. His mother is listed as his guardian on his School Record Card, so we can assume that his father had either left the family or had died by the time Fred joined the School. Mrs Daniels ran an off-licence in Winson Green.
At School, Fred was in the top half of his class, greatly improving his performance by the end of his year at KES, especially in science. On leaving School, Fred became a schoolmaster with the Birmingham Education Committee, and lived on Park Hill Road, Harborne, with his wife, Nellie.
In 1914, Fred was a Scoutmaster on Coastguard service at Herne Bay. In 1915, he transferred to military service as a Company Sergeant-Major in the 5th Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Fred was awarded the Military Cross in July 1916, for “his fine example of coolness and courage during an intense bombardment on July 1st, when all the officers of the company had been killed or wounded”. In 1917, he gained a commission as a Second Lieutenant, and was reported wounded and missing, presumed killed, on 3rd December 1917 at Cambrai, aged twenty-nine. He is commemorated on the Cambrai Memorial, Louverval, France. At the time of his death, Fred’s wife was living at 141, Metchley Lane, Harborne, and received £319 from his estate.