On the maternal side, the family is of Irish and Scottish ancestry; and on the paternal side the background is that of English and Flemish origin. It is most probable that the "Stephens" side came to England during the time of the campaign against the Hugenots (circa 1580). Many people from the Low Countries escaped persecution by fleeing to England in this period, and the majority settled in Lancashire, where they established the cotton industry.

In World War II, the Stephens family was engaged in essential war work, and this continued into the post-war years, mostly in the construction of furnaces and other industrial complexes essential to the development of post-war Britain. Much of this work was undertaken in the redevelopment of the Clydebank area of Glasgow - a location which had been seriously affected by intensive German bombing; and for which rebuilding was a priority.

By the early 1950s, the Stephens family had moved back from Glasgow (home of the mother) to the Manchester area (home of the father) and settled there. Frederick, the only child, was enlisted at the Lord Derby Grammar School in the late 1950s, and from there was awarded an Apprenticeship in Printing at the concern of F. Collins and Co., Printers, in Bury, a small township just north of Manchester. Originally working as a compositor (a setter of type, by hand), his entire working career was spent in and around printing and publishing, in every capacity within the industry, and at all levels.

Having pursued many areas of collecting since childhood (when war souvenirs from the Third Reich were relatively commonplace in post-war Britain), the concept of producing a book about Third Reich edged weapons became a viable possibility through a first-hand understanding of the printing trade, and how to get a book self-published. It was this opportunity that opened the way for many other future publications.