Francis was born in Hamilton, Scotland, to a large mining family. He attended Glasgow University, but left joining the Army due to the family's financial situation.

Francis was with the Royal Artillery serving in Hong Kong and fought in the Battle for Hong Kong. He was a P.O.W. initially in HK, but later on the Lisbon Maru on the way to Japan when torpedoed.

Francis was trapped in the hull, but managed to escape. He swam to local islands, where he was looked after by the islanders, before being retaken by the Japanese the following day.

Francis ended up in a forced labour camp in Osaka in pretty terrible conditions. He was lucky to still be alive by the time of the Japanese surrender.

Francis eventually returned home in 1946, via India and Canada. He was demobbed, but he was not expected to survive as he was wracked with TB.

To the doctors surprise, Francis did not succumb to TB. He joined the Department of Labour, Civil Service, met his wife, Josephine and they married in 1953. Together they had eight children and eighteen grandchildren.

Francis was a good father and husband and died surrounded by his family at home, aged 81, having defied the odds!