Ancestor Details
Ancestor's Name: Arthur Anthony Evans
Ancestor's date of birth: 24/07/1874
Ancestor's date of death: 16/07/1947
Cause of Death: Heart failure complicated by asthma
Service and Life Before the Boer War: Born in Carmathen, Wales. Educated privately and at the University of Wales. A regular British soldier, Royal Engineers
Service Number: Officer - no number
Colony or State of enlistment: Not Australia, Place of Enlistment: Wales
Unit: Royal Engineers
Rank attained in Boer War: CAPT, Date Effective: Detail not provided
Highest Rank attained (if served after war): LTCOL, Date Effective: Detail not provided
Murray Page: Not applicable, did not serve in an Australian unit.
Contingent: Not applicable
Ship: Detail not provided
Memorial details: Detail not provided
Awards/Decorations/Commendations: Queen's South Africa Medal with Orange Free State, Transvaal, Cape Colony and Defence of Ladysmith clasps. Order of the British Empire, Military Cross, 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal, Mentioned in Despatches 4 Times, and The Serbian Order of The White Eagle with Swords.
Personal Characteristics: Extremely modest and rarely spoke of his experiences
Reasons to go and fight: A Regular British Soldier
Details of service in war: Served at the siege of Ladysmith. Later was at Bloemfontein and associated with many of the journalists there including those who establish the Army Newspaper, the Friend. His scrapbook shows the signatures that he collected including Rudyard Kipling, HA Gwynne and Julian Ralph. He would have met Banjo Patterson. Other signatures include Beatrice Chesham and Lilah Cavendish, the wife and daughter of the Commander of the the Imperial Yeomanry, Brigadier General, Lord Chesham. Winston Churchill gave him the nickname 'Good God' Evans, a nickname that stuck with him to the end of his life. The signature bottom right is of Lord Stanley the Chief Censor in Bloemfontein.Apparently Evans also moonlighted as a journalist, sending articles back to a journal in the UK.
Service and life after the Boer War: He married in 1901. He served in the Great War as officer in charge of signals, GHQ, Gallipoli then Assistant Director of Signals and Chief Signal Officer, Sinai, Palestine and Syria 1914-1920.. After the war he served as Chief Engineer, Palestine Post and Telegraphs, 1920-1933.He was a Member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, (MIEE). In retirement he lived at Stilton House, Stilton, Peterborough, UK.
Descendant Details
Name of Descendant: Felicity Dodds, Mona Vale NSW
Relationship to Ancestor: Grand Daughter
