William John Evans

Family

William John Evans was born in Dartmouth on 15^th February 1893 and baptised at St Saviours on 27^th April of that year. He was the eldest of three children of Stephen Martin Evans and his wife Sarah Maria Hayman.

Stephen Evans was born in Kingswear, where his father, also Stephen Martin Evans, was an agricultural labourer. By 1891, Stephen (junior) had moved to Dartmouth to work as a groom, lodging with his eldest brother John and his family, on the Embankment.

In 1892, Stephen married Sarah Maria Hayman, one of two surviving daughters of Thomas Hayman, a sailor, and his wife, Rhebena Roberts. Thomas had worked on ships sailing from Dartmouth to Liverpool and had met Rhebena in the city; Sarah and her elder sister Edith were born there. Sadly, Thomas Hayman had died when Edith was five and Sarah was three, and their younger sister, Mary Ellen, born that year, died two years later, in 1877. Their mother Rhebena then formed a relationship with Robert Davies, a dock labourer, by whom she had four children. She remained in Liverpool - Edith and Sarah were not recorded living with her in the 1881 Census. It appears that they moved to Dartmouth to live with their paternal grandparents, Thomas Masters Hayman and his wife Maria Allery. Thomas Masters Hayman farmed at Lower Swannaton, just outside the town.

By the time of the 1891 Census, Edith had married. She and her husband, George Henry Marshall, and their infant son Thomas, were recorded sharing a house in Lake Street, Dartmouth, with Thomas and Maria Hayman, and Sarah Maria, aged 19. Sarah worked as a dressmaker; her grandfather, though aged 72, was recorded as a "general labourer".

Stephen and Sarah made their home in Lake Street too, where William was born in 1893. By the time their next child, Ethel Mary, was born, in 1896, Stephen and Sarah had moved to Silver Street (now Undercliff). The 1901 Census recorded them living there with the two children and also Sarah's uncle, her mother's brother John Allery. Stephen worked as a domestic gardener and coachman.

By 1911, William, now 17, was working for, and living with, Frederick Sanders Bowhay, a butcher in Victoria Road (for more on the Bowhay family, see the story of Harry Bowhay). William worked as Frederick's Assistant; Frederick's brother in law, Arnold Lentern, aged 14, was an apprentice.

William's parents, Stephen and Sarah, still lived in Silver Street, with Ethel, aged 15, and their younger son Frederick, born in 1907. Stephen now worked as a cartman for a coal merchant; Sarah continued to work as a dressmaker, on her own account.

Service

Like so many, William's Army service papers have not survived. However, his name appeared in the first list published in the Dartmouth Chronicle of "Dartmouth patriots who have responded to the National Call to Arms during the present great European War", on 11^th September 1914. As this indicates, he was amongst the first in the town to join up. Along with several other men from Dartmouth, he joined the 8^th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. The eager recruits, including William, featured again in the newspaper on 25^th May 1915, looking forward to their arrival in France. They disembarked on 25^th July 1915 - see the story of Andrew Prettyjohn, who was the first of the men of Dartmouth in the 8^th Battalion to be killed in action, on 8^th September 1915.

On 25^th September 1915, the 8^th Devons went into the attack at the Battle of Loos, where eight more men from Dartmouth lost their lives. For the Battalion's experiences at Loos, see our separate article.

The 8^th Devons then served in the Cuinchy sector until they moved south to the Somme, at the end of 1915. For their experiences after Loos and during the early part of 1916, see the stories of George Burnell, killed whilst on sentry duty at Becordel on 10^th February 1916, and Thomas Arthur Chase, who was serving with the 8^th Devons until he was wounded sometime in early March 1916.

The 8^th Devons spent the months leading up to the opening of the Battle of the Somme in the southern part of the sector, near Fricourt. On 1^st July 1916, the 8^th Devons were in Brigade Reserve for the attack, required to move up into the trenches vacated by 9^th Devons, as soon as they had gone forward in the attack on Mametz. For the action on 1^st July 1916, involving the 8^th and 9^th Devons, see the story of Robert Phillips Willing. The attack was successful, but the 8^th Bn lost three officers killed, with 47 men killed or missing, and seven officers and 151 men wounded.

William's name appears as one of those "wounded" in the Devonshire Regiment in a casualty list of 31^st July 1916 (though the list does not of course refer to any particular action). The names of the vast majority of those killed in the 8^th Battalion on 1^st July (as we now know) appeared in a casualty list published very soon after, on 5^th August 1916. This suggests that William was most likely wounded in the attack on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.

No record or other information has yet come to light about the severity of William's injury, how long he took to recover, or where he was during that time - whether treated in France, or back home in "Blighty". At some point, however, most likely after he had recovered, he was transferred to the 6^th Battalion of the Dorset Regiment, and given a new service number, 22168.

The 6^th Dorsets were also on the Somme. On 1^st July 1916 they had been in reserve, but were ordered up later in the day to take forward the attack on the Fricourt salient. Fortunately for them, the attack was cancelled only ten minutes before they were due to go in. In August they were first at Longueval, near Delville Wood, and then at Hebuterne, a relatively quiet sector, where they remained for much of September. They came back into the front line at Le Transloy at the end of October. For the conditions at that time, see the story of Thomas Arthur Chase, referred to above, who by that point had also transferred from the Devonshire Regiment to the Dorset Regiment, number 22837. His number is higher than William's, which may suggest that William transferred to the Dorsets before Thomas. If so, the date of Thomas' death - 9^th November 1916 - provides a latest date by which these transfers must have taken place.

By 15^th November 1916 the 6^th Dorsets were "at rest" at Molliens Vidames, west of Amiens; but they returned to the Somme front a month later, to spend Christmas week in the trenches at Les Boeufs. The conditions were extremely challenging. According to the War Diary:

They remained in the same sector until 20^th February, when they moved to Meaulte for rest and training, plus much-needed baths, and issue of new clothes. The War Diary comments that "shirts drawn [ie to replace those taken off] were poor, several of them being "alive" with lice". From Meaulte, they moved to Warloy, north west of Albert, for "intensive training" according to a programme prepared by the Brigade called "Attack on Strong Point", where they stayed until 14^th March 1917.

The Battle of Arras

While the Dorsets were honing their attacking skills, the strategic situation changed. During the middle of March, the Germans withdrew to the new line of defence called, by the British, the Hindenburg Line. The British front had moved forward, away from the old battleground of the Somme. For the coming spring, a major offensive was planned by the British around Arras, diversionary to an even larger French attack further south. For the background to the plans for the Arras offensive, see the story of Cyril Stafford.

Between 14^th -16^th March, the Dorsets were moved north to Fillievres, and after a week there, to Ivergny, closer to Arras, where they remained, still training, until 3^rd April. Unfortunately, the Battalion War Diary is missing the usual daily summary sheets between 31^st March and 18^th April, but other enclosures enable the reconstruction of the Dorsets' activities and movements.

17^th Division (of which the Dorsets were a part) was in reserve for the first day of the Arras offensive, which began on 9^th April. Two days before, they had moved to the village of Montenescourt, a few miles to the west of Arras, where they celebrated Easter. On 10^th April, they were brought forward, moving into billets in Arras itself, and on the 11^th April, came into the new front line, replacing 15^th Division between the village of Monchy le Preux and the River Scarpe, to the east of Arras. Monchy had been taken after very fierce fighting, the previous day.

On 12^th April, they were ordered to continue to take the attack forward against the new German defensive lines east of Monchy. Verbal orders were issued at 3.30pm; zero hour was 6.20pm. They had had very little time to familiarise themselves with the ground, and they faced heavily fortified enemy positions. Furthermore, there had been no time to bring forward enough heavy artillery to deal with the strength of the enemy defences.

 "A" Company was on the right of the Battalion's front, "C" in the centre and "D" on the left; "B" company was in Battalion reserve. The report of the action included in the Battalion's War Diary states that:

The attack was delayed at this point, other divisions having also been unable to make progress. Two platoons were sent forward from "B" Company to reinforce "D" Company and one to reinforce "C" Company; the position reached was consolidated and patrols sent out, which met the enemy's advanced posts about 200 yards east of the position gained. At about 11pm, orders were received to return to the original British front line as soon as the 7^th East Yorkshires had been brought up to hold it. The operation was completed, leaving the 7^th East Yorkshires holding the original front line, "as daylight was breaking". Nothing had been gained and the Battalion had suffered heavy losses - three officers had been killed with one missing believed killed, and four were wounded; amongst the men, there were 20 killed, 61 wounded with three missing.

The Battle of Arras continues: the "Second Battle of the Scarpe"

During the next few days, while there was a brief pause in British operations, it became clear that the attack launched by the French further south on 16^th April would not provide the immediate and much longed-for breakthrough that had been promised. To maximise the chances of success overall, and despite misgivings at the highest level, pressure had to be maintained through continuing with the British offensive around Arras.

A renewed attack took place on 23^rd April 1917, on a nine-mile front between Bailleul, to the north-east of Arras, and Bullecourt, to the south-east. For the fighting north of the River Scarpe, see the story of James Henry Moriarty. The 6^th Dorsets were involved in the attack immediately to the south of the river.

The 6^th Battalion's War Diary resumes its daily account a little beforehand, on 18^th April, when the Dorsets moved up past the "Railway Triangle" (the intersection of the Arras-Lens and Arras-Douai railways) and the following day relieved the 10^th Sherwood Foresters in the Support Line at Orange Hill, to the west of Monchy le Preux. Battalion HQ was shelled and one fell in the midst of carrying parties, killing one man and wounding fifteen others.

On 21^st April, they were relieved and returned to the shelter of the underground caves in Arras, coming back the following night into the same trenches for the attack. As they left the Caves for the trenches, at 11.30pm, a shell fell at the head of the exit, killing six men and wounding six more.

At 3am on 23^rd April, they arrived at their designated positions in support behind the 7^th Lincolns, who were behind the 7^th Borders - who were to lead the attack in that sector of the line. Behind the Dorsets were the 7^th Yorks. The attack went in at 4.55am after about ten minutes of "intense bombardment"; at about 8am the Dorsets moved up into the original British front line.

According to Jonathan Nicholls, the movement of the 7^th Borders to the jumping-off trench had been seen by a concealed enemy outpost, and they were easily targeted. He quotes Private Reg Eveling of the 7^th Borders:

The 7^th Borders lost 15 officers and 404 other ranks, although one of the attacking companies did manage to take a German strong point, which they were able to enlarge and consolidate.

When the 7^th Lincolns moved up, they too were seen by the concealed enemy outpost. Furthermore, a request that the creeping barrage be brought back to cover their advance was refused. When 17^th Division then cancelled their attack, the message did not reach them in time - so they went forward without any artillery cover. As they reached the wire, they too were cut down.

At 6.30pm the Dorsets in their turn went forward to continue the attempt to take the objective of "Bayonet Trench", but, according to the Dorsets' War Diary:

Again it seems that the artillery preparation had been insufficient; the wire had not been cut, and, as on 12^th April, enemy machine gun positions north of the river were untouched, with the same terrible results. At 3am on 24^th April, they were relieved by the 7^th Yorks, in reserve behind them, and returned to the original British front line; from there, on 25^th April, they were relieved at 11.30pm, and returned to their billets in Arras, arriving there at 2am on 26th. Later that day, they were taken to their rest billets west of Arras by train.

According to the Battalion War Diary, two officers were killed and four wounded; amongst the Warrant Officers, NCOs and men, seventeen were killed, with 84 wounded and three missing. Total battle casualties for April, adding together those for 12^th and 23^rd, were 235.

Along the whole front, some gains were made - the villages of Gavrelle and Guemappe. But, in an all too familiar story, a terrible price had been paid.

Death

It is evident that there was considerable uncertainty about what had happened to William after the Dorsets' participation in the two actions described above.

On 15^th June 1917, William's name was amongst those reported as "wounded" in casualty lists appearing in West Country newspapers. A further report appeared in the Western Times of 3^rd July 1917, when his name appeared as one of those "previously reported wounded, now reported wounded and missing".

At the same time, Stephen and Sarah, William's parents, evidently received official news too. The Dartmouth Chronicle of 20^th July 1917 reported, in its "Local Intelligence" column (all too frequently used for news of this kind):

Set against the account in the 6^th Dorsets' War Diary, the quoted date of 25^th April for William to have been wounded and gone missing, appears odd. No casualties were reported there as having occurred on 25^th April, which was the day on which the Battalion moved back into Arras from the original British front line, though of course many were incurred in the attack two days earlier.

William's death was not officially confirmed until 2^nd November 1917, when West Country newspapers reported him "previously reported wounded and missing, now reported killed". The date of 25^th April was apparently now regarded as the date on which he had been killed, rather than wounded. All official records therefore give his date of death as 25^th April 1917.

Commemoration

William's body was never found (or was never identified). He is commemorated on the Arras Memorial, which records the names of almost 35,000 men dying in the Arras sector between spring 1916 and early August 1918, who have no known grave.

As one of the 579,206 casualties in the region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais, William is also commemorated on the new memorial at Notre Dame de Lorette, "The Ring of Memory".

In Dartmouth, William is commemorated on the Town War Memorial and the St Saviours War Memorial Board.

Sources

The War Diary of the 6^th Battalion Dorsetshire Regiment is available for download from the National Archives (fee payable), reference WO 95/2000/3 (1^st July 1916 - 31^st December 1916) and WO 95/2000/4 (1^st January 1917 to 30^th April 1917).

West Country Regiments on the Somme, by Tim Saunders, publ Pen & Sword, 2004

Cheerful Sacrifice: The Battle of Arras 1917, by Jonathan Nicholls, publ Pen & Sword 2005, reprinted 2015

Information Held on Database

Surname:	Evans
Forenames:	William John
Rank:	Private
Service Number:	22168
Military Unit:	6th Bn Dorsetshire Regiment
Date of Death:	25 Apr 1917
Age at Death:	24
Cause of Death:	Killed in action
Action Resulting in Death:	Battle of Arras
Place of Death:	Near Monchy le Preux, France
Place of Burial:	Commemorated Arras Memorial, France
Born or Lived in Dartmouth?	Yes
On Dartmouth War Memorial?	Yes
On St Saviour's Memorials?	Yes
On St Petrox Memorials?	No
On Flavel Church Memorials?	No
In Longcross Cemetery?	No
In St Clement's Churchyard?	No
On a Private Memorial?	No
On Another Memorial?	Yes
Name of Other Memorial:	"The Ring of Memory" at Notre Dame de Lorette

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