Private Frederick Ernest Garner was born and grew up in Oakham, and sang with the Oakham Church Choir as well as being its secretary. He had attended and then taught at Oakham Council School. His parents lived at 32 Penn Street in Oakham but when war broke out Fred had moved and was a certificated assistant at the Church of England School, Stony Stratford. He enlisted on 5 November 1915 into the 91st Field Ambulance Royal Army Medical Corps, and went out to the Western Front on 26 January 1916. He suffered from trench fever in July and while he was recovering he contracted cerebal meningitis from which he died on 18 October 1916 in a hospital at St Omer. Fred was within two days of 27 years of age, and left a widow. He is buried at Longueness (St Omer) Souvenir Cemetery, grave IV.A.66, and is remembered on Oakham's war memorial.