The grave of Samuel Evans VC, Piershill Cemetery, Edinburgh

Samuel Evans VC (c. 1821 – 4 October 1901) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with " republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...

forces.

Early life

He was born Samuel Evens in Paisley, Renfrewshire in 1821, the son of Anne and James Evens, a weaver. He initially followed in his father's footsteps as a weaver of Paisley shawls, but in September 1839 he enlisted in the 26th Regiment of Foot at Gallowgate Barracks, as 1535 Private Evens. He joined his regiment in India in October 1840. The regiment moved to China and he was part of the China War of 1842. In 1843 the regiment was billeted at

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

and remained there until 1851. In 1852 he volunteered for the 19th Foot Regiment to serve in the Kaffir Wars in South Africa, with a new service no. as 2721 Private Evans, remaining Evans for the rest of his life. In 1854 he sailed to Varna with his regiment to serve in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included t ...

The Winning of the VC

He was about 34 years old, and a private in the

19th Regiment of Foot 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number. Mathematics 19 is the eighth prime number, and forms a sexy prime with 13, a twin prime with 17, and a cousin prime with 23. It is the third full re ...

(later The Yorkshire Regiment (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own)),

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

during the

when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 13 April 1855 at Sebastopol,

Crimean Peninsula Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

, Private Evans volunteered to go into an

embrasure An embrasure (or crenel or crenelle; sometimes called gunhole in the domain of gunpowder-era architecture) is the opening in a battlement between two raised solid portions ( merlons). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a space hollowed ou ...

to repair a breach. He and another private went into the battery and leapt into the embrasure, where they carried out the necessary repairs under very heavy enemy fire. He did not receive the medal until 26 June 1857. He traveled to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

from

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and was presented the medal in a ceremony in Hyde Park, receiving it personally from

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

. His Victoria Cross is displayed in the

Green Howards Museum The Green Howards Regimental Museum is the museum of the Green Howards infantry regiment of the British Army. It is located in the old Trinity Church in the centre of the market place of Richmond in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, ...

, Richmond, Yorkshire, England.

Later life

On 8 September 1855 he was severely wounded during the attack on Redan and after some time at Scutari Hospital was returned to Britain. He was discharged from the army, unfit for service, on 13 May 1856. It was while in hospital that he met a widow, Margret McNichol who had been invited to nurse at the Scutari Hospital by Florence Nightingale and upon returning to Edinburgh they were married. Through various connections (and presumably a degree of fame) he acquired a job as lodge-keeper at Holyrood Palace, living in a charming lodge at the entry to Holyrood Park. In the 1870s he left Edinburgh and bought a shop in Dumfries but this was not a great success.http://19thfoot.co.uk/History-Samuel-Evans In 1888 he returned to Edinburgh, living in a humble flat at 332 Lawnmarket on the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), des ...

. He died in 1901 and is buried with his wife Margaret in Piershill Cemetery in eastern

References

*''

Monuments to Courage David Charles Harvey (29 July 1946 – 4 March 2004) was a historian and author. He is notable for his seminal work, ''Monuments To Courage'', which documents the graves of almost all recipients of the Victoria Cross, a task that took him over 36 ...

'' (David Harvey, 1999) *''

The Register of the Victoria Cross ''The Register of the Victoria Cross'' is a reference work that provides brief information on every Victoria Cross awarded until the publication date. Each entry provides a summary of the deed, along with a photograph of the recipient and the fol ...

'' (This England, 1997) *'' Scotland's Forgotten Valour'' (Graham Ross, 1995)

External links

Darlington and Stockton Times
''(Edinburgh)''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Samuel 1821 births 1901 deaths Military personnel from Paisley, Renfrewshire Crimean War recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of the Crimean War British military personnel of the First Opium War Green Howards soldiers British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross