Edgar Evans

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For other uses, see Edgar Evans (disambiguation).

Petty Officer Edgar Evans (1876 - February 17, 1912) was one of Robert Falcon Scott's companions on his ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition to the South Pole in 1911-1912.

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[edit] Background

Evans was born in Rhossili, Wales, the son of a seaman. He enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1891, and in 1899 began service on HMS Majestic, where Scott was serving as a torpedo lieutenant.

[edit] Discovery Expedition

Main article: Discovery Expedition

Evans then joined Scott's first Antarctic expedition in Discovery in 1901-1904. Along with William Lashly, he accompanied Scott on his "Furthest West" sledge journey to the interior of Victoria Land in 1903.

[edit] Terra Nova Expedition

Main article: Terra Nova Expedition

Scott's biographer Roland Huntford described Evans as "a huge, bull-necked beefy figure" and a "beery womanizer" who was "running a bit to fat" by the time of Scott's second expedition in Terra Nova. Evans was nearly left behind in New Zealand when he drunkenly fell into the water while boarding the ship. However, Evans was a favorite of Scott, who decided to overlook the incident.

Scott chose Evans as a member of his polar party, together with Lieutenant Henry Robinson Bowers, Lawrence Oates, and Dr. Edward Adrian Wilson. They reached the South Pole on January 17, 1912, but their return journey became a desperate affair. Evans had cut his hand in an accident as they were nearing the pole, and the wound did not heal properly. During the return journey Evans began to deteriorate mentally as well as physically, and may have suffered a head injury in a fall into a crevasse on February 4, 1912, which caused his condition to worsen rapidly. By this time he was also suffering badly from frostbite in his fingers and nose.

On February 16, 1912, nearing the base of the Beardmore Glacier, Evans collapsed. The next morning, unable to keep up, he was left behind while the others went ahead man-hauling the sledge towards the next supply depot; they had to make a return journey to fetch him on the empty sledge. He died in the tent that night. It was not recorded what was done with his body, and none of the other members of the polar party survived the return journey.

Edgar Evans is not to be confused with Lieutenant E.R.G.R. "Teddy" Evans, Scott's second-in-command on the Terra Nova expedition.

[edit] References

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