Frederick Skinner was born in Cochar, Assam, in India on 6 December 1883, the son of Mrs Bessie Skinner. and was educated at Bedford Grammar School.

He joined the Royal Navy in September 1898 and served in the cruiser HMS THESEUS where he was promoted to Midshipman on 15th February 1900. From May 1902 he served in the battleship HMS JUPITER and in the cruiser HMS ST GEORGE before joining the cruiser HMS GOOD HOPE in November 1902. In February 1903 he was promoted to Sub Lieutenant and appointed to the Royal Naval College ‘for his Lieutenants Courses’.  On leaving the College with four First Class passes, he then served in the Torpedo Boat Destroyer HMS LEVEN from March 1904 until he was appointed to HMS THAMES for submarine training in April 1904.

During his training he served in ‘Submarine Holland No. 3 as the Second Captain’ and was then appointed to ‘Submarine A5 as the Second Captain’. Whilst HMS A5 was visiting the Queenstown Naval Base on 16 February 1905 the submarine was rocked by a series of petrol vapour explosions whilst moored alongside the Submarine Depot Ship HMS HAZARD. Frederick Skinner was killed instantly by the first explosion.

Frederick Skinner of 20, Linden Road, Bedford was buried with full military honours in the Foster Hill Road Cemetery in Bedford.