Born in St Martin's, Shropshire,[1] Williams studied at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Middleton, before entering journalism.

In 1941, he became Controller of Press Censorship and News at the Ministry of Information, and for his work he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1945.

[4] He then became the public relations advisor to Labour Party Prime Minister Clement Attlee for two years, the first person to hold such a position.

[8] His The Triple Challenge: The Future of Socialist Britain (1948) explains the main Labour programs started under Attlee.

In 1957, Francis produced a history of the press, entitled Dangerous Estate, part of which was devoted to explaining the rise and fall in the circulation of newspapers.