Francis Cartland was born at High Barnet, Middlesex on 3 August 1893, the son of George Cartland, a constable in the Metropolitan Police and his wife Edith. He was one of six children; they lived at South Mimms, Hertfordshire. George Cartland left the Police in 1899 and became the licensee of the Six Bells public House at Thame, Oxfordshire.

Francis joined the Royal Navy as a Boy Seaman on 16 Dec 1907 at HMS PRESIDENT when he was only 14 years of age and telling the Navy that he was born on 3rd August 1891. He trained at HMS GANGES and then served in the cruiser HMS CRESSY, where he was rated Boy 1st Class on 1 September 1909, rising rapidly to Ordinary Seaman on 18 November. Thereafter he served briefly in the battleship HMS ILLUSTRIOUS, the light cruiser HMS FORESIGHT and the destroyer HMS ATTENTIVE. He was rated Able Seaman on 27 May 1910.

After he served in HM Ships HECLA, TOPAZE and MINERVA he joined the new battlecruiser HMS PRINCESS ROYAL in late 1912. While in PRINCESS ROYAL he saw action at the battle of the Heligoland Bight in August 1914 and the battle of the Dogger Bank in January 1915. He entered the submarine service at HMS DOLPHIN in January 1916.

He married Ada Elizabeth Rogers in October 1916 at Plymouth.

Francis Cartland is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial, panel 24, the HMS E49 memorial at Baltasound, Unst in the Shetland Islands, the Thame town war memorial and on memorial boards in All Saints' and St Mary's churches in Thame.