Arthur Walter Evans VC DCM

b. 08/04/1891 Seaforth, Lancashire. d. 01/11/1936 Sydney, Australia.

Arthur Walter Evans (1891-1936) was born on 8th April 1891 at 33 Caradoc Road, Seaforth, Lancashire. It has been assumed that Arthur was the stepson of Robert and Eleanor Evans but this is now not the case. The mistake seems to stem from an interview given by his sister, Eleanor, to the Bolton Journal and Guardian on 1st November 1918, whilst he was still serving as Walter Simpson. Eleanor was his next of kin and in order to cover her brother’s change of name declared he was her stepbrother. Arthur’s father, Robert Evans, was born in Wigan, and married Eleanor Ann McCann in 1879 in Liverpool. Robert was a storekeeper in an engine works, and later became an accountant in a cotton mill. Arthur had five siblings.

Arthur was educated at St Thomas’ School, Seaforth until 1905. His father found him employment in a Liverpool office as a porter. However, this did not suit him and he joined the Royal Navy on 2nd July 1909 at Chatham, Kent for 12 years. He was appointed a stoker aboard HMS Acheron and joined HMS Pembroke II on 19th November. He transferred to HMS Indomitable on 17th December. On 30th August 1910 he was charged with theft and sentenced to 42 days’ detention. He was discharged from the Navy on 1st December 1910. What happened next is a little unclear. It is said he joined the Merchant Navy and travelled across America. He is then said to have work on the Panama Canal, and explored the jungles of Central and South America, before returning to Liverpool in 1913. On his return he found his family to have moved to Bolton, and he lived there with his sister, Eleanor and brothers.

Arthur W Evans VC DCM

Arthur enlisted in 1st King’s (Liverpool) Regiment at Talavera Barracks, Aldershot on 11th May 1914. He embarked on SS Irrawaddy for France on 12th August 1914 and was involved in actions at Mons, retreat to the Marne, the Aisne and First Battle of Ypres. He was badly wounded at Festubert in May 1915 and was evacuated to Manchester for treatment. What happened next is unclear. He may have returned to the front and served with the Devonshire and North Staffordshire Regiments for a short period. However, he also may have deserted and rejoined the Merchant Navy and this would account for his name change to Walter Simpson. It is claimed that he was awarded the Mercantile Marine War Medal, but this has not been proved.

It is known he served in the 43rd Training Reserve Battalion, which formed from 10th (Reserve) Battalion, King’s Own (Royal Lancaster) Regiment on 1st September 1916 at Wareham, Dorset. He transferred to 2/4th Lincolnshire and served in Ireland for a period between April 1916 and January 1917, when the Battalion moved back to England. It crossed to France in early February 1917.

Arthur is believed to have been gassed and wounded at Poelcapelle, Belgium on 9th October 1917, whilst manning a machine gun. During the action he was buried by a shell burst and was reported killed in action. He had actually regained consciousness to find himself buried with only his face exposed. Two comrades found him and dug him out. He was evacuated to Bath, Somerset for treatment. He rejoined the 6th Lincolnshire in France in the spring of 1918.

On 2nd September 1918 south west of Etaing, France, a patrol reconnoitring on the west bank of a river sighted an enemy machine-gun on the east bank. The river being very deep at that point, Lance-Sergeant Evans volunteered to swim across and having done so crawled up behind the machine-gun post, where he shot the sentry and another man and made four more surrender. After a crossing had been found and one officer and one man joined him, machine-gun and rifle fire was opened on them. The officer was wounded and Sergeant Evans covered his withdrawal under very heavy fire.

Following his citation being published with the name Walter Simpson (later corrected), he was presented with his VC on December 3rd 1918 at Valenciennes, France by King George V. He was also awarded the DCM for his actions on 6th/7th October 1918 while in command of a platoon of C Company on a fighting patrol. He was ordered to clear the area north of Chateau Aubencheul-au-Bac to the Canal de la Sensee. He rushed a strong enemy post, killing ten of the occupants, and wounding several others.

Arthur served as a company accountant between March and April 1919 and was discharged to the Reserve in November 1921. After a few months living with his sister in Bolton, he found employment as a bank messenger with Lloyd’s Bank British Empire Exhibition Branch, Wimbledon in the summer of 1922. Arthur married Ellen Maud Whitaker at Kingston Register Office on 9th April 1924. They had a son, Arthur George Evans born in 1933. On 28th July 1924 he appeared before Wealdstone Police Court for stealing £500 while a messenger for Lloyd’s Bank. He was found guilty and was bound over for 12 months in the sum of £10. However, because of his war record the case was widely reported. He lost his job and his reputation. He decided on a fresh start overseas.

He and his wife emigrated to New Zealand, arriving in January 1925, and settled at Tauranga, where he was employed as a clerk for six months for Armstrong Whitworth, prior to enlisting in the New Zealand Permanent Defence Staff as a staff sergeant on 1st July 1925. He chose to be discharged on 25th November 1927 citing ill health, suffering from chest problems and stomach pains. They emigrated to Australia in 1928 and he was a clerk in Sydney. He enlisted as a private in the Australian Tank Corps on 17th October 1932 and was promoted to sergeant within a few weeks and staff sergeant after 6 months. His health began to suffer again and he was discharged on 13th March 1934.

While in Australia, he attended the first AIF Reunion Dinner at Sydney Town Hall on 8th August 1928, with eight other Australian VCs. He attended a luncheon at Government House in November 1929 given by the Governor of Australia, with 13 other VCs. He also attended the wedding of Walter Ernest Brown VC DCM in Bexley, New South Wales on 4th June 1932 with 7 other VCs.

Arthur passed away in the Repatriation Hospital, Sydney on 1st November 1936 at the age of just 45, and he was cremated at North Suburbs Crematorium in Sydney. The ashes were originally interred at Rookwood Cemetery, Sydney. In November 1936 the Australian Government, as a tribute of respect to Evans’ fighting record, arranged for his ashes to be borne back to his native land. They were placed in the personal charge of Corporal Arthur Sullivan VC because of his close friendship with the dead man. Sullivan’s duty was to hand the ashes to his friend’s relatives for burial in the grave of his brother, John in England. On disembarkment at Tilbury, Corporal Sullivan went to St. Annes-on-Sea and placed the urn in the headquarters of the St. Annes-on-Sea branch of the British Legion, where it lay until handed over to Evans’ surviving brother. The ashes of Arthur Evans, carried by two members of the British Legion and followed by his four relatives, were interred at Lytham St. Annes Park Cemetery with the remains of his stepbrother. His sad duty fulfilled, Sullivan returned to London, whilst waiting for passage back to Australia, tragically; on 9th April 1937, Sullivan was involved in an accident in which he fell while walking to his quarters. He was taken to hospital but died soon after from head injuries sustained in the accident. Sullivan was accorded a full military funeral in London. His ashes were returned to Sydney.

Arthur Evans is commemorated with Evans Crescent in Canberra, with a VC commemorative stone placed at Bowersdale Park, Seaforth Road, Liverpool on 7th September 2018, with a memorial at Rimrose Hope Primary School in Seaforth, and his VC action features in two issues of the Victor Comic.

In addition to his VC and DCM, he was awarded the 1914 Star with “Mons” clasp, British War Medal 1914-20, and Victory Medal 1914-19 with Mentioned in Despatches oakleaf. The VC group was sold at a Spink auction on 27th-28th November 2019 for a hammer price of £235,000. The medal group is in private ownership.

LOCATION OF MEDAL: PRIVATELY HELD.

BURIAL PLACE: PARK CEMETERY, LYTHAM ST ANNES, LANCASHIRE. (ASHES INTERRED)