Fred Yates grew up in Manchester. His career as an insurance clerk was cut short by the outbreak of war and he served in the Grenadier Guards until 1945 when he returned to Manchester as a painter and decorator. Untutored, but with tremendous self-discipline, Fred began to paint pictures of the rich industrial architecture of Manchester, the red brick terraces and the commotion and humour of street life.
He subsequently enrolled on a teacher training course at Bournemouth College of Art and in 1950 won a travelling scholarship to Rome and Florence.
He taught art for twenty years and in 1969 he moved to Cornwall to enable him to devote all his energy to painting.While he still painted scenes remembered from his childhood in Manchester, he also worked on sunnier landscapes, new faces and activities that surrounded him. His paintings are included in many private and public collections.