EVANS, William Horace Lionel
| Service Number: | 150 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 August 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Warrant Officer Class 2 |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Prospect, South Australia, Australia, June 1889 |
| Home Town: | Adelaide, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Painter |
| Memorials: | Prospect Roll of Honour A-G WWI Board |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 150, 10th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked AIF WW1, Sergeant, 150, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ascanius, Adelaide | |
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 150, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Ascanius embarkation_ship_number: A11 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Aug 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 150, 10th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 1 Mar 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Warrant Officer Class 2, 10th Infantry Battalion, was promoted to Warrant Officer Class 2 | |
| 15 Jun 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Warrant Officer Class 2, 150, 10th Infantry Battalion, Wounded in leg when revolver discharged accidentally. | |
| 25 Feb 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Warrant Officer Class 2, 150, 10th Infantry Battalion | |
| 31 May 1918: | Discharged AIF WW1, Warrant Officer Class 2, 150, 10th Infantry Battalion |
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The life of William Horace Lionel Evans
William Horace Lionel Evans was born in June 1889. He was born in Prospect, South Australia and lived on Whinham Street, Ovingham, Adelaide. Not much is known about his life before the war. There are a few things like his religion, Roman Catholic, and his job, painter, that are known. William was single when he enlisted in the war on the 17th of August, 1914. He enlisted in Morphettville, Adelaide, South Australia at the age of 25 and 2 months. He was appointed to the 10th battalion G company. This battalion was mainly filled with people from South Australia. He embarked on 20th of October 1914 on the HMAT Ascanius A11 from Adelaide. During the war, he went to many places including France and England.
While training in preparation for the landing at Gallipoli, Evans received a bayonet wound in the right knee. This meant he missed the landing, and eventually reached Gallipoli on 2nd August 1915. On the 1st of March 1916, he got promoted to C.S.M (Company Sergeant Major) and Warrant Officer 2nd class. He was likely promoted because the officers above him passed away in battle, but it may have been because he was perfect for the job.
On the 15th of June 1916, he got a bullet wound to the foot. This injury caused him some strife because he was shot by his own revolver. There was a court inquiry on the 18th and 19th of June 1916 after that stated he had accidentally shot himself in the foot with his revolvers because his revolver was defective. This court inquiry likely happened because in those times a lot of soldiers would purposely injure themselves to get out of the horrible conditions of war. On the 19th of June 1916, he embarked to England on the H.S. Brighton. This was most likely to go to a good hospital because England had a lot of better medical facilities than the battlefields would have.
When he had recovered, he re-joined the 10th battalion on the 16th of November 1916, in France. In 1917 on the 25th of February he received a shrapnel wound in his left elbow and was admitted to Edmonton hospital. This wound never permitted him to return to front line duty. Rather, he was sent back to Australia in early 1918, arriving on 16th April and being medically discharged on 31st May.
After the war, he bought a house, got married and had kids. His new address was 23 Newbon Street, Prospect SA. Now known as 23 Newbon Street, Nailsworth SA, with a postcode of 5083. He married Mary Annie and had three kids, Margret, Phyllis, and William Evans. The birth dates and ages of his children are unknown. His wife would have been his strength and support after the war. Sadly, on the 24th of September 1937, 19 years after World War 1 ended, at the age of 44, Mary Annie Williams wife passed away. This would have been a very hard time for him because he was now a single father. He not only did he become a single father he also lost one of the great people that supported him. After his wife’s death, there is nothing more known about him, so his death and age of death are unknown.
William Horace Lionel Evans was a great man that fought very hard for his country. He showed ANZAC spirit through his loyalty, selflessness, persistence, courage, and mateship. He showed courage and loyalty when he joined the war as one of the first sets of recruits in 1914. He showed courage being one of the first sets of recruits meaning he had no former knowledge of what war was like and loyalty to his country. He showed selflessness, persistence, and mateship when he re-joined his battalion even though he could have left and said that he had had too many injuries. He showed selflessness in that situation and did it for his country.