[2][3] Born in London (as Frederick James Baycock) he attended Brighton School of Music, took lessions from organist R H Timberley and composer Eric Thiman, and attained his ARCO.
[7] After war service in the Royal Air Force he became organist and director of music at Holy Trinity Church, Paddington, and also taught organ and musical appreciation at St Gabriel's College, London from 1948.
[10] (These were sometimes written under pseudonyms, including Frederick Boyce, Guy Desslyn, Peter Keane and William Field).
As a result his pieces Inferno and Finger of Fear have ended up being frequently used in programmes such as Count Duckula, The Ren & Stimpy Show and SpongeBob SquarePants.
[11][12] Many of his KPM library compositions have a historical or martial feel, for example the mock-heroic Joust.