Born in Wroughton on November 21, 1835, Francis Pavy was the youngest son of William (who died when Francis was six months old) and Mary Pavy of Elcombe Hall, Wroughton. He went on to have a very distinguished career.

Going to Brussels with his family at an early age, he was educated by the English clergy in Malins.

His ambition was the army, but his mother had other ideas and persuaded him to study to become a surgeon.

It was while he was in his second year of studies at Bath, that the Crimean war broke out.

His medical department was seeking volunteers and Francis signed up to go and left almost immediately.

He arrived just after the Battle of Inkermann and went on to serve in the medical units for 10 months.

He was deeply affected by the suffering of the men there which was later very much eased by Florence Nightingale to whom Francis said he owed his life.

He returned to England to recover from a fever he had contracted.

Not long after, he enlisted into the army and was gazetted to the 74th Highlanders in 1856.

He went to join the regiment in India just as the Indian mutiny broke out.

During the capture of Kepal, as ensign he led a storming party which took the citadel and a large number of prisoners.

After the mutiny and with his new-found knowledge of Hindustani, he was offered and accepted an appointment in the civil service with the Revenue survey department.

Through his hard work he rapidly rose within the department and then took overall charge in Kurnool. His health suffered though and in 1862 he had to return to England for convalescence leave. The following year, back in India, he served on the Indian Staff Corps before rejoining his regiment back in Edinburgh.

He soon found this a bore, so took half-pay and was offered a position in the accountancy firm of Price, Holyland and Waterhouse, by his friend and head of the firm, Mr Lowell Price.

After two years he was offered a partnership. While on business in France in 1870, he was caught up in the Franco-Prussian war and just about managed to escape Paris before the city was sealed.

He was later appointed to the Honourable Corps of Gentleman at Arms and sold his commission with his old regiment.

He dealt with the affairs of some large companies which took him to India, Canada and the West Indies. His experience led to him to become the manager, then chairman, of the Railway Debenture and Railway Share Trust Corporation. Living in Portland Place, London, he was well known in the City and also had many dealings in the US.

He took a prominent part in the reorganisation of the American Railroads, eventually becoming chairman of the Alabama, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway Company.

He was a director of the Metropolitan Railway Co and of the Blaenavon Iron and steel co, also of the Westinghouse Brake co, as well a Justice of the Peace for Wiltshire. He was described as a hard and constant worker by the Bristol Biographical Company in ‘Leading men of London’ 1895.

As his health failed in January 1902 he requested to return to his home at ‘Markham’ Wroughton where he died on February 21, aged 66 years.

His ashes was interred in the family vault.