Ajax Veterans Street Dedication: Cadby Road

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Town of Ajax Street Dedication
Cadby Road
Frederick Jacob Albert Cadby Chief Petty Officer HMS Ajax February 1938 to 1945 n/a n/a Yes Died at Battle: No 1910-1990

Street Name: Name of Veteran: Rank: Ship Served: Date of Service on Ship: Year of Visit/Dedication: Veteran or Family Visit:

Veteran of the Battle of the River Plate:

Frederick Cadby was born in Halstead, Essex in 1910 and was adopted by a local family along with his sister and brother. He joined the Royal Navy at the age of seventeen in 1927. During his time in the RN he served HMS Pembroke, HMS Sussex, and HMS Ajax during the Battle of the River Plate. Fred had an interesting experience during the Battle of the River Plate. He was assigned to a damage control party and merely stood by during action to await any call to make emergency repairs that might be needed. When one of the gun turrets was hit, he made his way to it but found that it had already been abandoned and sealed off. He stopped by an empty compartment on his way back to his duty station and picked up a magazine. He idly flipped through its pages as the Ajax continued to fight. When he came to a story entitled, "Five Minutes to Live", he was immediately offended and flung the journal across the deck and left.
(Excerpt from "Stories Left Behind" by Edmund S. Wong, Blog post: March 17, 2015)

In 1940 Fred married Augusta, a local girl, and they had three children; Marie, Patricia and John. With his long spells at sea the marriage broke down and after six years they divorced. He then met Ina, a girl from Plymouth who was also in the Royal Navy and they married soon afterwards. Fred remained with HMS Ajax until after her refit then joined HMS Cheviot until his retirement in 1956. After retirement Augusta, Patricia, Marie and Frederick from the Navy as a Chief Petty Officer Fred got a posting with after the war. the British Embassy. Once again he travelled the world working in Singapore, Japan, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, and Sri-Lanka. Fred and Ina retired to a house in a small village called Alberton, just outside of Plymouth. He had a happy retirement and died in 1990 at the age of 80. Fred was cremated and his ashes were put in a small coffin and taken off the coast of Plymouth and lowered overboard into the sea he always loved. Ina lived on until 2013, she died at the age of 93.
Frederick, age 58

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