Born of a German father and an English mother, Fritz Lohse had changed his name to Frederick in the hope of minimising anti-German sentiments. He had been scoring goals for Folkestone, in a dismal Southern League season, when he arrived at Southampton in time to play in the annual charity Cup-matches against Portsmouth, at inside-left. He did enough in the first game – a 4-1 win – to gain a contract and marked the second game, two days later, with the Saints’ only goal in a 5-1 defeat. Portsmouth had just won promotion to the First Division. After the second game, the Mayor of Portsmouth provoked “a mighty roar of cheering” from the Fratton Park crowd when he suggested that “the citizens of Portsmouth” would be hoping that the Saints might follow Pompey up in 1928.

He spent the next season scoring freely (24 goals in 45 games) at centre-forward, but for the Reserves, as essentially he was third-in-line to Bill Rawlings and Jim Bullock.

He survived the season – thanks to the team’s trainer who resuscitated him when he stopped breathing during a match. After breaking a leg, he coached several junior sides and after war broke out he joined the RAF in 1942 as a PT instructor, but was invalided out in 1944. In January of that year he became warden at Croydon Boys Club for a period. Then, in March 1948, he and his wife were imprisoned. They had been found guilty of stealing from Fordham House Hostel, where both of them were employed. He received 21 months, while his wife, Kathleen, was sentenced to nine months.

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