Born in Western Australia, Fred Whicker immigrated to Britain where he took up work as a printer at the Bristol Times and Mirror. By attending evening classes at the Bristol Art School he met and married (1931) a fellow artist Gwendoline CROSS, known as Gwen. He joined the New Bristol Arts Club and exhibited at the RWA, as did Gwen.

Buckman mentions that at least to begin with, he was much influenced by his wife's excellent draughtsmanship, though later becoming more experimental and extending to figure and landscape paintings. After WWII, they moved to Falmouth, where Gwen took up teaching at Falmouth Art School and became one of the Governors of the School.

A retrospective for the couple was presented in 1994 at the Falmouth Art Gallery, and an appreciative monograph was penned by Catherine Wallace to accompany the exhibition.