Francis Sidney Drake was born in 1922 and educated at Hackney Downs School, London. His training as an architect was interrupted by the war but he eventually graduated, with Honours, from the Northern Polytechnic, London, in 1948. The following year he gained a position as an architect in the Public Works Department of the Tanganyika Government (today Tanzania). He attended the Architectural Association in London from 1955 to 1956 enrolling in the Department of Tropical Architecture. After his studies, he returned to Tanganyika to continue his work for the Public Works Department, rising to become Chief Architect there between 1960 and 1964. In this role, he was responsible for many projects including the design and construction of the Court House in Dar es Salaam. In 1964, he and his family returned to Britain, where he gained employment with the John Laing Group, working primarily in a research role until 1982. He passed away in 2011 in Gosford, New South Wales, Australia.

Source

• Architectural Association Student Register 1945-1972, AA Archives
• Department of Tropical Architecture, student listing, Otto Koenigsberger Collection, Box OK27, AA Archives
• Architectural Association Members List, 1961.
• Personal correspondence with Brian Drake, Edward Bottoms, AA Archives, 20/02/24