Frederick Sherriff was the son of a Devon-born bricklayer and was brought up in the East End of London. He enlisted in the infantry in 1907 and became a sergeant in the Army gymnastic staff in 1912. At the outbreak of the War he became a company sergeant-major and in 1915 was commissioned in the York and Lancashire Regiment and won the Military Cross at the Battle of Hooge in Belgium that same year. He was promoted to the rank of captain in 1917 and shortly afterwards was injured in action at Bullecourt in France. Following the formation of the R.A.F. in 1918 he became the chief instructor at the Physical Training School at Uxbridge and played an important role in maintaining the high standard of fitness in the R.A.F. In recognition of his services in promoting physical fitness in both services, he was awarded the O.B.E. in 1935,.
A fine swordsman, Sherriff competed in the 1924 and 1928 Olympics and was the British amateur foil champion in both 1924 and 1925. He was the inter-services foil and bayonet champion in 1923 and also won the Man-at-Arms Shield. He held the RAF foil, épée, sabre and bayonet titles four times. He was also a fine boxer and was responsible for the formation of the R.A.F. Boxing Association and was their heavyweight champion in 1919, when he also won the heavyweight championship of Southern Ireland. At the time of his death from a heart attack at the age of 53, he was the Commanding Officer at the R.A.F. Officer’s School at RAF Cosford, where he died.
Great Britain