Francis White (died December 1657) was an English soldier and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1656. He died at sea after serving in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

. White was a major in the Lord General's Regiment of Foot and in May 1649 went on Cromwell's behalf to reason with mutinous soldiers at Burford Oxford. On 11 September 1650 the Council of State gave warrant to pay White £300 for bringing news of good success from Scotland. He was Lieutenant Colonel in Colonel Goff's Regiment of Foot in 1653. On 15 August 1653 the Council allowed White to open a door from his house in King's street into an orchard in

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...

. In 1655 he was one of the most active of officers forming a committee of ordnance.W R Williams ''Parliamentary History of the County of Gloucester''
/ref> In 1656, White was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a medieval market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town has significant history in the Wars of the Roses and grew since the building of Tewkesbury Abbey. It stands at the confluence of the Riv ...

in the Second Protectorate Parliament. Netherlands-Scheveningen-Pinken-1900

In 1657, following notice on 9 October, White was sent by the Council of State to Fort-Mardyck to take charge of matters there and was lost at sea on the return journey. On 7 December 1657, Admiral

Richard Stayner Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Stayner (1625–1662) was an English naval officer who supported the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War and the Interregnum. During the First Anglo-Dutch War he commanded the in actions at Portland (Februa ...

reported that the ''Half Moon'' had arrived from Mardyke but the accompanying

pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

containing White and Sir John Reynolds had been lost and a trunk washed up containing White's personal letters. White had gone in the pink against advice and was lost about the Goodwin Sands. John Thurloe wrote the "loss is to be much lamented, they being very worthy persons and of great use."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Francis Year of birth missing 1657 deaths English MPs 1656–1658 Roundheads Politicians from Gloucestershire Deaths due to shipwreck at sea