Francis William Fane entered the Royal Navy on 15 April 1795 as a young midshipman, and rapidly impressed his superiors with his service during the French Revolutionary Wars aboard the frigate HMS Terpsichore.

Attached to the squadron under Sir Samuel Hood ordered to blockade Alexandria, Terpsichore assisted in the destruction of French vessels entering or leaving the port.

On 2 September, a squadron including Terpsichore drove the cutter Anémone ashore, but as the French survivors scrambled onto the beach they were intercepted by Bedouin partisans.

As the British watched from beyond the heavy surf, the Bedouins began massacring the survivors, and desperate attempts to reach the beach by boat were driven back under fire from the French.

In desperation, Lieutenant Fane dived into the sea with an empty barrel tied to a rope and swam ashore, dragging five French soldiers back to the ships, the only survivors of the massacre.