Francis Tottenham

Admiral Sir Francis Loftus Tottenham, was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, Africa from 1935 to 1938.

Naval career

Tottenham, the second son of Captain Francis Loftus Tottenham, joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1895. As a midshipman, he was posted to the battleship in early April 1900, while she was posted in the Channel Fleet. He served on the despatch vessel when he was promoted to lieutenant on 1 October 1902. He served in the First [World War] with the 4th Battle Squadron. After the war he was a member of the Inter-Allied Naval Armistice Commission and Control Commission in Germany. He commanded from 1920 and then became naval attaché in Washington D.C. in 1922. He later commanded the shore establishment and then. He was made rear admiral commanding 3rd Cruiser Squadron in 1932 and Commander-in-Chief, Africa Station in 1935. He retired as a full admiral in 1940.

Personal life

In 1932, in his 50s, Tottenham married Evelyn Rosalie Prescott Street, the widow of Captain Herbert Street, and only daughter of Harry Ernest Prescott. They had one daughter.
Following Tottenham's death, Sir Douglas Marshall, who served with him in the Second World War, eulogised him in The Times: