BORN in 1932, Fred was 14 when he was taken into Morgan Giles yard earning 14/-10d per week, a little less than the pay he could have earned as a carpenter for a local building firm.

He began as a boat builder apprentice and within six months was left to work on his own, making tenders for yachts.

Harry Sealey was one of his guiding lights in the team focused on building a six-metre Golden Hind racing yacht to enter in the 1948 Olympics.

Fred is seen aged 16 visible on the far right of the photograph. Sadly, the craft failed to qualify in the trials held in Tor Bay.

As the demand for the range of luxury motor cruisers took off Fred became one of the charge hands and worked on several of the popular Monacos. Among his range of responsibilities was the construction of a barge for the captain of the Royal Yacht Britannia.

READ THE FULL STORY IN FRIDAY’S PAPER.