Frederick Spencer Chapman was born in London on 10 May 1907.

His mother, Winifred Ormond, died shortly after his birth and his father, Frank Spencer Chapman, emigrated to Canada.  Freddie (as he was to become known) and his older brother, Robert, were cared for by an elderly clergyman and his wife in the Lake District

His early schooling was one of a typical northern upbringing, rugged and hard but honest Sedbergh.  He advanced his education at Cambridge, but did not excel in any of his chosen subjects. 

He did however succeed in one of his chosen goals, that of exploration he enjoyed so much.  Freddie was the first to cross the Greenland ice-cap and was to further his outward bound activities by climbing in the Himalayas.

From this he taught at Gordonstoun school Prince Philips's old school, in fact HRH was one of his pupils.

His love of the outdoor life and adventure lead to him being chosen  for a mission in Australia. That mission was to train Australian and New Zealand forces in guerrilla warfare and eventually to join what was then Special Training School 101 in Singapore.

At the outbreak of war Freddie and his team of resistance fighters went into action.  They were successful in doing damage to as much as they could, eventually going deep into the Malayan jungle.

Throughout the war he remained a thorn in the Japanese side, accounting for no less that 7 trains, 15 bridges and 40 motor vehicles and the killing of some hundreds of Japanese in a short period of time

He spent most of the rest of the war helping and fighting with Chinese communists, who were waging war with the Japanese as a consequence of the Rape of Nanking.

Note there have been some arguments over the spelling of Spencer-Chapman's name, all I can offer is when Freddie as my father knew him said "I  would rather it be spelt with an IE at the end, Y sounds so common" Father could appreciate that being a Christie!

Notes from my fathers memories and his file at the Bodleian