On 21st June 1894, towards the end of the Victorian era, in a small terrace house in the midlands town of Desborough a child was born to the beautiful 24 year old black country girl Alice. She had been married to Julius Rudolf for as short a time as might be reasonable. Julius had met Alice while she was an assistant teacher in the local school and despite the 10-year age gap the couple fell in love and travelled back to the Wolverhampton to marry, and honeymoon in Wales. They were both visitors to the town, Julius having travelled to England from Germany when he was just 21. The couple christened their child in the local St Giles Church and named him Fritz Rudolf George, clearly a strong influence from his father. He kept this name until he was about 22 when he changed his name by deed poll on the advice of Arnold Rowntree. Rowntree had quite a remarkable effect on Frederick’s future in many ways.

When Frederick was just 2 years old his mother died of TB. It is probably pertinent that in later years the Fritz devoted so much time to rid the world of the disease.

When he was of the right age Fritz went to the local primary school and the end of Havelock street, just a 4 minute walk away. But when he was 12 the family moved to the newly built houses at the end of the road. It is likely that he did well at school because in September 1906 he registered as a boarder at Laxton Grammar in Oundle, 17 miles away. He lived in the Laxton boarding house with the Master in charge TH Ross. He apparently excelled also I sport coming first in several races and being mentioned for his prowess as a goalie in the 2nd XI, and later in the 1st XV, being noted for beong “very quick dealing with low shots”. In 1910 he came first in the shooting competition and win prices at speech day. Although he played cricket he doesn’t not seem to have excelled as a batter as he is not recorded as scoring any runs.

In 1911 aged 17 he stayed on to do his University Entrance exams in Oundle School and became a member of the Science Society. In 1912 he writes a letter to his Aunt Nellie in Canada to tell her proudly that he has matriculated. He left Oundle in 1913 after winning a Foundation Scholarship to Sidney Sussex. This coincided with his family moving from Desborough to be less than a mile away, to 162 Chesterton Road, on the edge of the leafy and newly developed De Freville estate. In 1915 he was awarded 2nd Class Part 1 of Natural Science Tripos in Cambridge University. (Chemistry Physics and Mineral Geology).

Photo of card to Nellie

Photo of craduation

This coincided with the start of conscription but as a conscientious objector he was exempted from military service and joined the Friends' Ambulance Unit. This was where he came under the influence of Rowntree, the founder of the chocolate company, and a Quaker. It was Rowntree who recognised the potential of the newly named Rudolf and encouraged him to return to university to convert his degree to medicine. In 1918, he was posted to Murmansk as a Captain and managed to take, or have taken a few blurred photos.

Then to china.

Demobed in 1919

however, he was allowed to return to Cambridge to continue a medical education, with clinical studies at St Thomas's Hospital, and qualified in 1918. A short period of service in the Royal Army Medical Corps took him to north Russia and China. Demobilized in April 1919 he obtained resident appointments at the Brompton Hospital and its sanatorium at Frimley. On 25 October 1920 he married Madeleine (d. 1966), daughter of John Denison of Ilkley, Yorkshire. They had two sons and a daughter. In October 1920 Heaf was appointed senior assistant medical officer to the London county council's Colindale Hospital for tuberculosis, and in September 1922 he moved as medical superintendent to the 200 bed King Edward VII Memorial Sanatorium at Warwick. He returned to the service of the London county council in 1930 as medical superintendent at Colindale.