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Albert Thomas Fredericks
Albert Thomas Fredericks was the son of Thomas Harding Fredericks, a ship's carpenter, and Elizabeth née Prickett. He was born in Frampton where the family lived in The Street, his birth being registered during the first quarter of 1878. Some of Albert's childhood was also spent in Fretherne but, at the time of the 1891 census, Albert's parents were recorded on their own, back in Frampton. Albert's whereabouts are unclear, and his story is next picked up when he travelled from Liverpool to Quebec in 1904 on the SS Lake Champlain giving his occupation as a baker. It seems that he married while in Canada, although it is difficult to be certain, but when he sailed from Montreal to Avonmouth in August 1913 aboard the SS Royal George, he was accompanied by his wife, Mary Ann (Annie), and their two young children, Harding and George, his occupation given as a carpenter. At the outbreak of the First World War the family were in Frampton; Albert's older brother, Harry Benjamin, was living on The Green. On 22 September 1914, Albert attested at Gloucester and was posted to the 5th (Reserve) Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment. He was recorded as 'not being likely to become an efficient soldier' 89 days later and discharged, presumably on medical grounds, for his conduct was described as 'Good'. This seems to have prompted the family's journey from Liverpool on the SS Scandinavian on 19 March the following year, to return to Peterborough, Ontario, previously Albert and Annie's home for some 11 years. On the ship's manifest, they were classified as 'returning Canadians'. |