Roger Evans (British Army officer)
Roger Evans | |
---|---|
Born | Christchurch, Hampshire, England | 9 January 1886
Died | 22 October 1968 Stocklinch, Ilminster, Somerset, England | (aged 82)
Allegiance | ![]() |
Service/ | ![]() |
Years of service | 1911−1944 |
Rank | Major General |
Service number | 23006 |
Unit | 7th Queen's Own Hussars 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards |
Commands held | Aldershot Area 1st Armoured Division 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards |
Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
Awards | Companion of the Order of the Bath Military Cross Mentioned in despatches |
Major General Roger Evans CB, MC (9 January 1886 – 22 October 1968) was a British Army officer who commanded the 1st Armoured Division during the early stages of the Second World War.
Military career[]
Evans was born on 9 January 1886.[1] He saw service in the First World War with the 7th Hussars and then on the General Staff.[2]
After attending the Staff College, Camberley from 1920 to 1921, he became Commanding Officer of the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards in 1929, followed by attendance at the Imperial Defence College in 1934, and a promotion to brigadier on the General Staff at Western Command in India in 1935.[2][3]
He was appointed General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 1st Armoured Division in 1938, continuing in that role into the Second World War with the British Expeditionary Force in France,[4] before relinquishing the appointment on 24 August 1940.[5] He was appointed GOC Aldershot Area on 13 March 1941,[1][6] before being made supernumerary to the establishment on 9 January 1943.[7]
He retired from the British Army on 13 October 1944.[8]
Honours and decorations[]
Evans was awarded the Military Cross (MC) in 1918.[1] His citation read:[9]
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. This officer led the leading squadron with consummate skill and dash over unknown and difficult country. At dusk he took up a position astride the enemy's line of retreat and succeeded in cutting off and capturing the main portion of the enemy's force, which desperately attempted to break through during the night.
From 1937 to 1947 he held the colonelcy of the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards.[10] In the 1941 King's Birthday Honours, he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB).[11]
He was appointed High Sheriff of Somersetshire in 1955.[12]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c EVANS, Maj.-Gen. Roger. Who Was Who. A & C Black. December 2007.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Evans, Roger". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Archived from the original on 2012-03-01. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- ^ Smart, 98
- ^ Orders of Battle – September 1939
- ^ "No. 34939". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 September 1940. p. 5389.
- ^ "No. 35126". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 April 1941. p. 1952.
- ^ "No. 35903". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 February 1943. p. 805.
- ^ "No. 36743". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 October 1944. p. 4675.
- ^ "No. 30901". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 September 1918. p. 10947.
- ^ "5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 27 February 2007. Retrieved 6 August 2016.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
- ^ "No. 35204". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 June 1941. pp. 3735–3736.
- ^ "No. 40433". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 March 1955. p. 1609.
Bibliography[]
- Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnesley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.
External links[]
- 1886 births
- 1968 deaths
- 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards officers
- 7th Queen's Own Hussars officers
- Alumni of the Royal College of Defence Studies
- British Army generals of World War II
- British Army personnel of World War I
- Companions of the Order of the Bath
- Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley
- High Sheriffs of Somerset
- People from Christchurch, Dorset
- Recipients of the Military Cross