Fred served in the Royal Navy during WW2 and then worked as a civilian typist for the territorial army. In the 1960s, he became an accounts clerk at Rowntrees (Nestle) in York up until he retired. He sadly passed away in 2007. His preferred name was Billy, as it was short for William, which was his middle name, as well as a tribute to his favourite fictional character - Billy Bigelow from Carousel.