Frederick Lee was born into a respected Chinese Canadian family whose members had originally immigrated from Sun Wei county near the city of Guangzhou, China. Among the very first Chinese to enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) of the First World War, Lee was one of only 300 or so Canadians of Chinese descent who served. Lee subsequently fought at Vimy Ridge and later vanished, likely annihilated by artillery after seeing victory in the Battle of Hill 70.