Godfrey French
Open-knowledge reference entry
Captain Godfrey Alexander French (1 July 1900 – 10 April 1988) was a Royal Navy officer who served as the last British Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff of the Indian Navy.
Career
Following his cadetship from 1913 to 1916, French was appointed midshipman on HMS Emperor of India serving in the Grand Fleet. Promoted to sub-lieutenant, he served as First Lieutenant of HMS Nith. Later, in 1920, he was an undergraduate at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Military Division (CBE) in the 1954 Birthday Honours.
The public source identifies “Godfrey French” as open-knowledge reference entry. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Godfrey, French and Open-knowledge.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Godfrey French”, the useful work is to connect “open-knowledge reference entry” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q112181023. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1900, 1988, 1913 and 1916.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Godfrey French”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Godfrey French primary sources, Godfrey French archive and Godfrey research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Godfrey French”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Godfrey French” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.