Francis Walsingham Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( 1532 – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Walsingham attended Cambridge University and travelled in continental Europe before embarking on a career in law at the age of twenty. A committed Protestant, during the reign of the Catholic Queen Mary I of England he joined other expatriates in exile in Switzerland and northern Italy until Mary's death and the accession of her Protestant half-sister, Elizabeth. Walsingham rose
Roy Francis (Royal Navy officer) later sold the WHR to finance the construction of the Wells and Walsingham Light Railway, which runs between Wells-next-the-Sea and Walsingham, Norfolk and opened in 1982. Francis died in the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital on 27 January 2015 at the age of 92. He left a wife, Marie, two children, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. His funeral was held on 13 February at St. Peter's Church, Forncett St Peter, Norfolk. attended by about 200 people. Francis lived in nearby Forncett St Mary. Roy Francis (Royal Navy officer) Lieutenant-Commander Roy Wallace Francis (2 July 1922 – 27 January 2015) was