Snowy Evans

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Willy John "Snowy" Evans (* 1891 in Hughenden , Queensland , Australia ; † 1925 in Australia) was a machine gunner from the 53rd Battery of the Royal Australian Artillery (RAA) during the First World War . A documentation on the Discovery Channel from 2002 attributed the shooting down of the German fighter pilot Manfred von Richthofen on April 21, 1918. Most sources attribute the shooting down to Sergeant Cedric Popkin of the 24th Machine Gun Company. Occasional sources mention Robert Buie, also 53rd Battery, as a shooter.

Life

Before joining the Australian Imperial Force on November 5, 1914, Snowy Evans worked as a sheep shearer in Hughenden, Queensland . On December 8, 1914 he was assigned to the C squadron of the 5th Light Horse Regiment (5th LHR) as Trooper Evans (Service Number 598). Evans left Australia with his home aboard the HMAT Persic , which set sail from Sydney on December 21, 1914. The unit fought dismounted at the Battle of Gallipoli during 1915 .

Evans was assigned to the Royal Australian Artillery on March 27, 1916 and transferred to the Western Front . In 1918 he was a gunner with the 53rd Battery of the 14th Field Artillery Brigade. He and Buie were proposed for the Meritorious Service Medal two days after Richthofen's death. Evans returned to Australia on December 3, 1918. He died childless in 1925.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Riddles of History: Who Killed the Red Baron? (Original: Unsolved History: Death of the Red Baron , 2002, Discovery Channel )
  2. ↑ a b Dr. Scott Miller, 2008, “The Death of Manfred von Richthofen: who fired the fatal shot?”, In Sabretache: Journal and Proceedings of the Military History Society of Australia , vol. XXXIX, no.2
  3. ↑ a b NOVA , 2003, “Who Killed the Red Baron? Explore Competing Theories "(Public Broadcasting Service)
  4. ^ "First World War Embarkation Roll, William John Evans" (Australian War Memorial)
  5. ↑ Australian Imerial Force Nominal Roll, 2nd Light Horse Brigade, 5th Light Horse Regiment "C" Squadron (Australian War Memorial; PDF; 171 kB), p.16.
  6. ↑ a b "5th Light Horse Regiment, Australian Imperial Force, Index D and E, Duffy, J. to Ewing, TC" (anzacs.org)
  7. ^ "Recommendation for William John Evans to be awarded a Meritorious Service Medal" (Australian War Memorial)
personal data
SURNAME Evans, Snowy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Evans, Willy John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Australian machine gunner
DATE OF BIRTH 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH Hughenden , Queensland , Australia
DATE OF DEATH 1925
Place of death Australia