By the age of 15, Christchurch-born Fred Hayter was working in Shirley as a page-boy domestic and playing parks football. His career as a footballer would essentially consist of a two-year interlude as an under-study, at the big club in town, between spells in the parks, while representing Hampshire on numerous occasions (see below). The reward for the patient under-study at The Dell was two games in the first-team, at inside-left, when Watty Keay was injured. After which, he worked nearby, initially as a coachman and then as a chauffeur – which included driving, in the 1920s, for the club’s former President, Russell Bencraft. Indeed, when Sir Russell passed away in 1943, The Echo described Fred as his “friend and companion for over 50 years” and at the funeral he sat alongside the family. Fred’s continuing affection for the Saints was demonstrated when the Mayor set up a “shilling fund” in 1938 to help the cash-strapped club. Based on trends in average earnings, Fred’s donation of 100 shillings (£5) would be worth in excess of £1,000 today.