Edgar Evans

Edgar Evans

Petty Officer Edgar Evans (March 7, 1876 - February 17, 1912) was one of Robert Falcon Scott's companions on his ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition to the South Pole in 1911-1912.

Background

Evans was born in Middleton, Rhossili [ [http://www.archivesnetworkwales.info/cgi-bin/anw/fulldesc_nofr?inst_id=34&coll_id=11286&expand= Memorial in Parish Church] ] , Wales, on March 7, 1876, the son of a seaman. He attended St. Helen's Boys School from the age of six until he was thirteen, then enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1891, and in 1899 began service on HMS "Majestic", where Scott was serving as a torpedo lieutenant.

Discovery Expedition

Evans then joined Scott's first Antarctic expedition in "Discovery" in 1901-1904. Along with William Lashly, he accompanied Scott on his "Furthest West" sledge journey to the interior of Victoria Land in 1903.

Terra Nova Expedition

Scott's biographer Roland Huntford described Evans as "a huge, bull-necked beefy figure" and a "beery womanizer" who was "running a bit to fat" by the time of Scott's second expedition in "Terra Nova". Evans was nearly left behind in New Zealand when he drunkenly fell into the water while boarding the ship. However, held in high regard by Scott for "his resourcefulness, his strength and fund of anecdotes," Scott decided to overlook the incident.

Scott chose Evans as a member of his polar party, together with Lieutenant Henry Robertson Bowers, Lawrence Oates, and Dr. Edward Adrian Wilson. Scott described Evans as "a giant worker -- he is responsible for every sledge, every sledge-fitting, tents, sleeping-bags, harness, and when one cannot recall a single expression of dissatisfaction with any one of these items, it shows what an invaluable assistant he has been". 11 weeks after setting off from base camp, the Polar party reached the South Pole on January 17, 1912, only to discover that Roald Amundsen's 5-man party had beaten them to the Pole by 5 weeks.

Their return journey soon became a desperate affair. Evans had cut his hand in an accident as they were nearing the pole, and the wound did not heal properly. During the return journey Evans began to deteriorate mentally as well as physically, suffering from frostbite to his fingers, nose and cheeks. As they descended the Beardmore Glacier, he is thought to have suffered a head injury in a fall into a crevasse on February 4, 1912, sustaining serious concussion which caused his condition to rapidly worsen. During the whole descent his condition delayed the party, and the surplus food gradually diminished.

On February 16, 1912, nearing the base of the Glacier, Evans collapsed. The next morning, unable to keep up, he was left behind while the others went ahead man-hauling the sledge towards the next supply depot; they had to make a return journey to fetch him on the empty sledge. He died in the tent that night. It was not recorded what was done with his body, and none of the other members of the polar party survived the return journey. His widow, Lois (they had married in 1904 and had three children), had a plaque placed, in his memory, in the Norman church at Rhossilli. It reads "To the Glory of God and in memory of Edgar Evans 1st Class Petty Officer, R.N., and a native of this Parish, who perished on the 17th February 1912, when returning from the South Pole with the Southern Party of the British Antarctic Expedition under the command of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, C.V.O., R.N. 'To seek, to strive, to find, and not to yield.' The Petty Officer (1st Class) is also remembered at the naval shore establishment on Whale Island, Portsmouth, where the Edgar Evans Building was opened in 1964, the first to be named after a petty officer rather than an admiral.

Edgar Evans is not to be confused with Lieutenant E.R.G.R. "Teddy" Evans, Scott's second-in-command on the "Terra Nova" expedition.

References

*Preston, Diana: "A First Rate Tragedy". ISBN 0-618-00201-4
*Huntford, Roland: "The Last Place on Earth". ISBN 0-689-70701-0
*Scott, Robert Falcon: "Scott's Last Expedition: The Journals". ISBN 0-413-52230-X
*Ranulph Fiennes (2003). Captain Scott. Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. ISBN 0-340-82697-5.

There is also a commemerative plaque on the Scott lighthouse memorial in Roath Park Lake in Cardiff, South Wales, which lists all of the crew members including Edgar.


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