Wilfred French
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = Admiral
| name = Sir Wilfred Frankland French
| image =
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| birth_date = 9 November 1880
| death_date = 6 December 1958 (aged 78)
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| allegiance = {{UK}}
| branch = {{navy|UK}}
| serviceyears = 1890s – 1939
| rank = Admiral
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| commands = {{Plainlist |
- {{HMS|Hood|51|6}}
- 2nd Battle Cruiser Squadron
- Vice-Admiral-in-charge, Malta
- Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands
}}
| battles = {{Plainlist |
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| awards = Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
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Admiral Sir Wilfred Frankland French, KCB, CMG (9 November 1880 – 6 December 1958) was an officer in the British Royal Navy.
Naval career
French entered the Royal Navy in the late 1890s, and was promoted to lieutenant on 1 April 1902.{{London Gazette|issue=27422|page=2281|date=4 April 1902}} The following month, he was posted to the battleship HMS Goliath, serving at the China station.{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Naval & Military intelligence |date=17 May 1902 |page=12 |issue=36770}} His career included time as flag captain of {{HMS|Hood|51|6}} (1927–1929); Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron (1931–1932); and Vice-Admiral in charge, Malta, from 1934 to 1937. He received the KCB in 1936.{{cite web |url= http://www.hmshood.com/crew/biography/french_bio.htm |title=Biography of Admiral Sir Wilfred Franklin French, K.C.B., C.B., C.M.G. |first=Paul |last=Bevand |work=HMS Hood Association |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225040027/http://www.hmshood.com/crew/biography/french_bio.htm |archive-date=25 February 2020}}
At the start of the Second World War, French was Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands (ACOS). On 14 October 1939, the anchorage of Scapa Flow was infiltrated by the {{GS|U-47|1938|6}}, which sank the battleship {{HMS|Royal Oak|08|6}} with the loss of 833 lives. The official report into the disaster cast blame for the weak defences at Scapa on French. Despite having earlier warned of the dangers of attack, and offering to bring a small boat or submarine into the anchorage to prove his point, French was forced to retire from active service, and was posted to Washington as an administrative and maintenance representative, serving there until 1944.Weaver, pp. 120–123
References
{{Reflist}}
Sources
- {{cite book | last = Weaver | first = H.J. | title = Nightmare at Scapa Flow: The truth about the sinking of HMS Royal Oak | publisher = Cressrelles |year=1980 | location = England |isbn = 0-85956-025-2}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=Matthew Best}}
{{s-ttl|title=Flag Officer, Malta|years=1934–1937}}
{{s-aft|after=Sir Wilbraham Ford}}
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{{succession box | title=Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands | before=New post | after=Sir Hugh Binney| years=July 1939–December 1939}}
{{s-end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:French, Wilfred Frankland}}
Category:Royal Navy admirals of World War II
Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Category:Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
Category:Royal Navy personnel of World War I
Category:People educated at Stubbington House School
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