French entered the
Royal Navy in the late 1890s, and was promoted to
lieutenant on 1 April 1902. The following month, he was posted to the
battleship HMS Goliath, serving at the
China station. His career included time as flag captain of (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. 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 , which sank the battleship 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. == References ==