Victor Richard Daniel Evans
Died 19 Dec 1941
- Service number
- W/3641 AWMM
- WWII W/36411 AWMM
- Also known as
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- Armed force / branch
- Navy AWMM
- Last rank
- WW2 Ordinary Telegraphist/Military AWMM Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve, HMS Neptune AWMM
- War
- World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM
About
- Title
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- Forenames
- Victor Richard Daniel AWMM
- Surname
- Evans AWMM
- Ingoa
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- Also known as
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- Service number
- W/3641 AWMM
- WWII W/36411 AWMM
- Gender
- Male AWMM
- Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
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- Religion
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Images
Documents
About birth
- Birth
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- Place of birth
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- Birth notes
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- Address before enlistment
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- Next of kin
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- Relationship status
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Wars and conflicts
- War
- World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM
- Campaign
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- Armed force / branch
- Navy AWMM
- Service number
- W/3641 AWMM
- WWII W/36411 AWMM
- Military service
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Military decorations
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Training and Enlistment
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- Branch Trade Proficiency
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Embarkations
- Embarkation details
- WW2 Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve AWMM
Prisoner of war
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- Liberation Repatriation
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Medical history
- Medical notes
- Killed in Action, Cause of Death AWMM
Last known rank
- Last rank
- WW2 Ordinary Telegraphist/Military AWMM
Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve, HMS Neptune AWMM - Last rank
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Biographical information
- Victor Evans was the son of Daniel James and Gertrude Mary Evans of Maori Hill, Dunedin, Otago.
He was in the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve from 12 Dec 1937 until 19 Dec 1941.
Mobilised 23 Aug 1939
He died when his ship, HMS Neptune, hit several mines in the sea off Tripoli and sank 19 December 1941.
Neptune's Legacy by Nixie Taverner. HMS Neptune was launched at Portsmouth on 31 January 1933. She was one of five 'Leander' class light cruisers completed between 1933 and 1935. Two others were HMS Achilles and Leander serving in the RNZN. They displaced 7,200 tons, could make 32 knots and carried eight 6 inch guns and 550 crew. The Neptune was in the Mediterranean from 1 December 1941 as part of Force K which was searching for Axis shipping, especially those taking supplies to Rommel in North Africa. Early on the 19th the ships of Force K ran into a minefield.The Neptune hit three or four mines and sank with only one survivor. At the same time the Aurora was badly damaged and Penelope slightly.Trying to reach Neptune to assist, the destroyer Kandahar was mined and had to be scuttled the following day. On the same day in Alexandria harbour the Queen Elizabeth with Admiral Cunningham on board and the Valiant were both badly damaged and sank.The Mediterranean Fleet battle squadron ceased to exist. Of the total crew of 766 there was only one survivor.He was rescued off a raft five days later by an Italian destroyer and spent the rest of the war in a prisoner of war camp. AWMM
About death
- Death
- 19 Dec 1941 AWMM
Age 21 AWMM - Date of death
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- Age at death
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- Place of death
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- Cause of death
- Killed in Action AWMM
- Death notes
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- Cemetery
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Memorial
- Memorial name
- New Zealand Naval Memorial, Devonport Naval Base, HMNZS Philomel, Devonport, Auckland, New Zealand AWMM
- National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas, Stafforshire, England. Monument, to the men of HMS Neptune and HMS Kandahar AWMM
Sources
- External links
- Waters, S.D. (1956). The Royal New Zealand Navy. Wellington: Dept. Internal Affairs, War History Branch. Digital copy
http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Navy.html
Sources Used - Royal New Zealand Navy. HMS Neptune.
http://www.navy.mil.nz/naval-reserve/naval-reserve-history/neptune-reserve-hero.htm
Further Reference - The Neptune Association.
http://www.hmsneptune.com/history1.htm
Further Reference - Commonwealth War Graves Commission record
https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2563910
Sources Used - Record Book of Naval Personnel - c.1920-1945 - Lists Navy number, alphabetical list of names of ratings trained in England, numerical lists of officers. Archives New Zealand, R21346617, AAYT 8495 N12
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R21346617
Further Reference
- Waters, S.D. (1956). The Royal New Zealand Navy. Wellington: Dept. Internal Affairs, War History Branch. Digital copy
- References
- Harker, J.S. (1991). Almost HMNZS Neptune. Wellington, N.Z.: Moana Press.
- Harker, J.S. (2001). The birth and growth of the Royal New Zealand Navy. Durham, England: Pentland Press.
- Taverner, N. (2003). Neptune's Legacy. Fleet Hargate, England: Arcturus Press.
- Information kindly provided by family
McGregor, J. & Clayton, D. (2005). Neptune and Kandahar Memorial. - Hudson, N. (2008). Sole survivor: one man's journey - biography of John Norman Walton, the sole survivor of HMS Neptune. England: The Memoir Club.
- St Clair, A. (2005). Mediterranean minefield: disaster of HMS Neptune. England: The Neptune Association.
- Record Book of Naval Personnel - c.1920-1945 - Lists Navy number, alphabetical list of names of ratings trained in England, numerical lists of officers. Archives New Zealand, R21346617, AAYT 8495 N12
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