Evans, Francis, 1880-1957
Dates
- Existence: 1880 - 1957
Biography
Admiral Edward Ratcliffe Garth Russell Evans, 1st Baron Mountevans, KCB, DSO, SGM (28 October 1880 – 20 August 1957) was a Royal Navy officer and Antarctic explorer. Francis "Frank" Evans was born in Wales. He was expelled from school and after a brief stint in a Reformatory School, joined the Royal Navy where he rose through the ranks to Commander. In 1913, he participated in Captain Robert Falcon Scott's two expeditions to Antarctica where he was seond-in-command. As such he captained the returning ship and returned the personal effects to the families of the lost Polar Party. Evans received the Order of the Bath from King George V. He also lectured extensivly on the expedition.
He later commanded the Australian Squadron and the Africa Station before becoming Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, one of the Navy's senior Home Commands; during this time, unusually for a serving officer, he was also Rector of the University of Aberdeen.
After four years at the Nore, he handed over command in early 1939, and was appointed Civil Defence Commissioner for London during the preparations for the Second World War; after the German invasion of Norway he travelled there to liaise with King Haakon VII, a personal acquaintance. He remained in a civil defence role throughout the War, though he had officially retired from the Navy in 1941, and was raised to the peerage in 1945, sitting in the House of Lords as a Labour member.