Fritz was born on 31 January 1916 in Chemnitz, Germany to Hans and Selma nee Heine and he had an older sister Kate and a younger brother Karl. During the early years of the Nazi regime the family fled Germany with Fritz coming to England and the rest of the family emigrating to the USA.

Fritz met Florence Ward and they were married in Hampstead, London in 1939 with their son Jack arriving in 1941.

Fritz enlisted in the Pioneer Corps and was posted to Carmarthenshire to work on the coastal defences. He was bitten by a rat and contracted Weil’s Disease and after treatment at Newton House hospital in Llandeilo he succumbed to the illness.