Edward Evans, 1st Baron Mountevans

Edward Evans during the Terra Nova Expedition (1911)

Evans had the important role of navigator during Scott's South Pole expedition

Edward Ratcliffe Garth Russell Evans, 1st Baron Mountevans , KCB , DSO , (born October 28, 1880 in London , † August 20, 1957 in Gålå , Norway ) known as "Teddy" Evans, was a British naval officer and Antarctic explorer .

Life

Evans entered the Royal Navy and reached the rank of sub-lieutenant in 1900 . With Antarctica he first came into contact when he during the first Antarctic expedition of Robert Falcon Scott Second Officer on the supply ship SY Morning was.

During the Terra Nova expedition to the South Pole , Evans was deputy expedition leader and captain of the Terra Nova . During Scott's march to the South Pole, he led the last support force, which turned back 230 km from the pole. During the march back Evans suffered from scurvy and had to be pulled on one of the sleds by other expedition members for a long time. He was sent home by ship because of his illness, but returned the following year to rescue the surviving members of the expedition. According to him, which was Cape Evans in Antarctica named.

After serving in Antarctica, Evans continued to serve in the Royal Navy. During the First World War he commanded the destroyer HMS Broke , with which he was involved in a battle with German torpedo boats in the Strait of Dover in 1917 . For this he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and promoted to Captain .

In 1921/22 Evans commanded the light cruiser HMS Carlisle , and in 1926/27 the battle cruiser HMS Repulse . As Rear Admiral , he commanded the Australian Squadron from 1929 to 1931 . From 1933 Evans was first Commander-in-Chief of Africa Station and from 1935 Commander-in-Chief, The Nore - from 1936 with the rank of Admiral .

During the Second World War , Evans was the civil defense commissioner for London. In 1945 he was raised to the hereditary nobility due to his services as Baron Mountevans . The title of nobility is derived from Mount Evans, named after him, in East Antarctic Victoria Land.

Evans, who had been married twice, died in 1957; the title passed to his eldest son.

Other medals

• Knight Commander of the Order of Bath
• Distinguished Service Order
• Knight's Cross of the Order of Saint John
• Grand Officer of the Order of the Tower and the Sword
• Commander of the Saint Olav Order
• Officer of the Legion of Honor
• Officer of the Order of the Leopold
• Knight of the Military Order of Savoy
• French croix de guerre
• US Navy Cross
• Belgian Order for Civil Merit (1st class)

literature

• Edward RGR Evans: South With Scott . Collins, London, 1921
• Apsley Cherry-Garrard : The Worst Journey in the World. Antarctic 1910-1913. Constable and Company Limited, London – Bombay – Sydney 1922.
• Ranulph Fiennes : Captain Scott . Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, London 2003. ISBN 0-340-82697-5 .
• Roland Huntford : The Last Place on Earth . ISBN 0-689-70701-0
• Preston, Diana: A First Rate Tragedy . ISBN 0-618-00201-4

Web links

Commons : Edward Evans, 1st Baron Mountevans  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Biographies of officers of the Royal Navy (English)
• Admiral Edward Ratcliffe Garth Russell Evans, 1st Baron Mountevans, on thepeerage.com , accessed September 14, 2016.
• www.oxforddnb.com (English), account required

Individual evidence

1. ↑ HG Thursfield: Evans, Edward Ratcliffe Garth Russell, first Baron Mountevans (1880-1957). ( Memento of July 14, 2014 on the Internet Archive ) Rev. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, January 2011.

predecessor	Office	successor
New title created	Baron Mountevans 1945–1957	Richard Evans