Vice-Admiral Sir Francis Arthur Marten, KBE, CB, CMG, CVO (7 January, 1879 – 14 March, 1950) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer who saw action in both world wars.

Biography

The son of G. N. Marten, of Marshals Wick,

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

, Francis Marten entered the ''Britannia'' as a cadet in July 1892, and went to sea as a midshipman two years later. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in 1900, appointed to the royal yacht HMY ''Victoria and Albert'' in 1909, and was promoted to commander in 1911. From 1912 to 1914, he was the executive officer of the battleship HMS ''St Vincent''. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Martin returned to active service as

convoy commodore Convoy commodore also known as commodore, convoys was the title of a civilian put in charge of the good order of the merchant ships in the British convoys used during World War II. Usually the convoy commodore was a retired naval officer or a seni ...

from 1940 to 1944. For his service, he was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

and appointed an additional

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1944.

References

1879 births 1950 deaths Royal Navy vice admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy officers of World War II Convoy commodores {{DEFAULTSORT:Marten, Francis Arthur