Vice-Admiral Sir Frank Larken KCB CMG (15 November 1875 – 21 January 1953) 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 became

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Early life and education

Larken was born in

Lincoln, Lincolnshire Lincoln () is a cathedral city, a non-metropolitan district, and the county town of Lincolnshire, England. In the 2021 Census, the Lincoln district had a population of 103,813. The 2011 census gave the urban area of Lincoln, including North H ...

, the middle son of Eliza Larken and solicitor Francis Roper Larken. He was the grandson of Edmund Larken and brother of Hubert Larken, Archdeacon of Lincoln. In 1889, he entered HMS ''Britannia'' as a naval cadet. His desire to go to sea was encouraged by early experience boating with his brothers on

Foss Dyke The Foss Dyke, or Fossdyke, connects the River Trent at Torksey to Lincoln, the county town of Lincolnshire, and may be the oldest canal in England that is still in use. It is usually thought to have been built around AD 120 by the Romans, ...

, he told a crowd in 1935: "I do not know that I showed any more aptitude for the sea then than they did, but one day, in a fishing boat at Filey, anchored off the Brig in a nasty swell with a cross tide, they were both very sick a good half-hour before I was. Encouraged by that, the prospect of brass buttons and the fact that midshipman received a salary, which afterwards turned out to mainly illusory, I welcomed the suggestion of my parents that 1 should follow a sea life."

Naval career

Larken served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and, as Captain of the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

HMS ''Doris'', he led a successful raid cutting the railway line between

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana Province, Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart ...

and Alexandretta in December 1914 thereby impeding the progress of the

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

invasion of

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. Engineer Graeme Haldane recalled Larken's tremendous leadership aboard the ''Doris'': He also saw action at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

in 1915. After the War, he was made Captain of the Fleet,

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

Senior Royal Navy Appointments
before being given command of the

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

. Following his promotion to rear admiral, he became

in 1925 and Commander of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron in 1927, and, following his promotion to vice admiral in 1929, he went on to command the

Reserve Fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...

in 1930 before retiring in 1932. He was made CB in the

1925 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1925 were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were published on 30 December 1924. The recipients of honours are displayed here ...

and advanced to KCB in the

1932 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1932 were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King. The ...

Personal life

In 1909, he married Victoria Alexandrina Rawson, the daughter of Commander Wyatt Rawson. They had two sons and two daughters. Their son Francis became a Royal Navy captain and Deputy Director of Naval Ordnance at the Admiralty. Their son Nigel was killed in action in 1941 aboard HMS ''Dolphin''.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Larken, Frank 1875 births 1953 deaths Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Royal Navy vice admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Royal Navy officers of World War I People from Lincoln, England Military personnel from Lincolnshire