Frederick John Symons—erroneously listed on the local stone war memorial under the surname "Simmonds"—was a young colliery worker. Born in Plymouth, Devon, he was the eldest son of John and Emily Symons, a Cornish couple who migrated to Wales and settled at Rhiw Syr Dafydd. He enlisted with the local Territorial forces, joining the 2nd Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment, and deployed across the English Channel to arrive in France in February 1915.

In early May 1915, during the brutal, shell-torn days of the Second Battle of Ypres, his battalion operated as part of the 12th Brigade. They were pushed straight into defensive positions near the Frezenberg Ridge to stem a massive German breakthrough attempt that was accompanied by heavy artillery bombardments.

Private Symons (2896) was killed in action during this desperate stand on 8 May 1915, aged just 18 years old. Because his body could never be identified or recovered from the devastated landscape, he is commemorated on the historic walls of the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium. His name stands engraved among the missing who fell in the Ypres Salient. He is also honored on the Battalion Memorial within St Cadoc's Church, Trevethin.