Fred Perrett won five Welsh caps before joining Leeds RLFC in 1913. At the outbreak of war he joined the Royal Welch Fusiliers and was a 2nd Lieutenant in 17th Battalion when he was badly injured in France. He died of his wounds after Armistice Day, on 1 December, 1918, aged 27. In Memory of Second Lieutenant FRED LEONARD PERRETT 17th Bn., Royal Welsh Fusiliers who died age 27 on 01 December 1918 Son of George and Emma Perrett, of Briton Ferry, S. Wales; husband of Mrs. H. G. Perrett, of 118, St. George's Rd., Hull. Welsh International. Late member of the Hull Football Club. Remembered with honour TERLINCTHUN BRITISH CEMETERY, WIMILLE
Perrett, Frederick Leonard played for Wales Internationals: 5 : 1912 SA- ; 1913 E- S+ F+ I+ Frederick Perrett was born on 1893, son of George and Emma Perrett of Briton Ferry, South Wales; later husband of Mrs H G Perrett of 118 St Georges’s Road, Hull, Yorkshire. Played as a Hooker/prop for: Neath Remarks: Joined the Rugby League (Leeds RLFC [CWGC has Hull RLFC]) in 1913. War service: 2nd Lieutenant, 17th Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 115th Brigade, 38th (Welsh) Division. He died of wounds after the Armistice on 1 December 1918, in France, and is buried in Terlincthun British Cemetery, Wimille, Pas de Calais, France [Grave XII. A. 18.].
Medal card of Perrett, Fred Leonard Welsh Guards 1827 Private Royal Welsh Fusiliers Second Lieutenant Date 1914-1920 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=4795801 Perrett originally played rugby for his local club Briton Ferry before eventually playing for Neath. While a member of Neath he earned his first Welsh cap against the touring South Africa team. Wales ran the South Africans close, but lost to a single penalty kick. Perrett was reselected for Wales in the 1914 Five Nations Championship, one of only two Welsh players to appear in all four matches of the campaign; the other being Neath team mate Glyn Stephens. The two complemented each other well, especially during line outs. The Welsh team lost the first game against England, but won the final three games to finish second. Perrett may have been selected for further Wales matches, but turned professional at the end of the 1913/14 season, joining rugby league team Leeds R.L.F.C.. Perrett's league career was cut short by the outbreak of World War I. He joined the Welsh Guards and served in France from 19 February 1916. He was subsequently commissioned as a second lieutenant, and transferred to the 17th Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers with seniority from 27 June 1917. He was seriously injured and died of his wounds in a casualty clearing station a month after the Armistice. He is buried at Terlincthun British Cemetery at Wimille in France. Perrett is often left out of lists of the Welsh international war dead due to his supposed defection to the professional game http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/30376/supplements/11669
