Snowy Evans

Infobox Military Person
name=William John Evans
born= 1891
died= 1925
placeofbirth= Australia
placeofdeath= Australia
placeofburial=
nickname=Snowy
allegiance= flag|Australia
serviceyears=1914–1918
rank=Gunner
branch= Army
battles=First World War

William John "Snowy" Evans (c. 1891-1925) was a Lewis machine gunner with the 53rd Battery, Royal Australian Artillery (RAA) during World War I. A 2002 documentary produced by Discovery Channel credited him with firing the shot that killed Manfred von Richthofen ("The Red Baron"), near Vaux-sur-Somme, France on April 21, 1918."Unsolved History: Death of the Red Baron", 2002, Discovery Channel]

However, most sources attribute the feat to Sergeant Cedric Popkin of the 24th Machine Gun Company. [http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/comment/richt.htm Dr. Geoffrey Miller, 1998, "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] ] [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/redbaron/theories.html "NOVA", 2003, "Who Killed the Red Baron? Explore Competing Theories" (Public Broadcasting Service)] ] (Other sources have suggested that Gunner Robert Buie, also of the 53rd Battery, fired the fatal shot, but there is now little support for this theory. ) Snowy Evans was working in Hughenden, Queensland as a shearer, when he joined the Australian Imperial Force on November 5, 1914; [http://www.awm.gov.au/nominalrolls/ww1/embarkation/person.asp?p=14509 "First World War Embarkation Roll, William John Evans"] (Australian War Memorial)] [http://www.awm.gov.au/cms_images/awm8/10_10_1/pdf/0094.pdf "Australian Imerial Force Nominal Roll, 2nd Light Horse Brigade, 5th Light Horse Regiment—"C" Squadron"] (Australian War Memorial), p.16.] he had the service number 598, indicating that he was one of the first 1,000 men to enlist in Queensland during World War I. He gave his next of kin as his father, who had an address on the North Shore of Sydney. On December 8, 1914, as Trooper Evans, he was assigned to "C" Squadron of the 5th Light Horse Regiment (5th LHR). [http://www.anzacs.org/5lhr/pages/5lhrmembersde2.html "5th Light Horse Regiment, Australian Imperial Force, Index D and E, Duffy, J. to Ewing, T.C."] (anzacs.org)] Evans left Australia with his unit on HMAT "Persic", which sailed from Sydney on December 21, 1914. The 5th LHR fought, without its horses, at the Gallipoli campaign during 1915.

Evans was transferred to the Royal Australian Artillery on March 27, 1916, [http://www.anzacs.org/5lhr/pages/5lhrmembersde2.html "5th Light Horse Regiment, Australian Imperial Force, Index D and E, Duffy, J. to Ewing, T.C."] (anzacs.org)] and went to the Western Front. In 1918, he held the rank of Gunner, and was a member of the 53rd Battery, 14th Field Artillery Brigade. He and Buie were both recommended for the Meritorious Service Medal for shooting at Richthofen. [http://www.awm.gov.au/honours/awm28/person.asp?p=27239 "Recommendation for William John Evans to be awarded a Meritorious Service Medal"] (Australian War Memorial)] Evans returned to Australia on December 3, 1918. According to the documentary he was a drifter and died childless in 1925. There are no known photographs of him.

References