Australians in the Boer War
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Hint: This site is intended as a search aid - not a definitive source. It is essentially an index to documents that seem to relate to this person plus a very brief precis of relevant elements. Sources often conflict and I also flag things with a ? when I am unsure. So if the information below is important to you, then please check the original sources to see what else they contain (and in case I have inadvertantly introduced transcription and/or precising errors). There can be additional information that was not included in the database for both space and copyright reasons.


 

Surname EVANS
Given Name(s) or Initial(s) William Drynan Jervoise
Regimental Number
RankLieutenant
Unit Name 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen
StateQld
Extracts and Comments
(from Sources as shown)

Murray: William Brynan, Horse Depot Standerton, Queen's South Africa medal and 2 clasps
West Australian: convalescent resumed duty
Source:# 540 ?William Dryman EVANS, AMF and AIF Staff and Regt. List 1914 shows Boer War service, Permanent Forces Engineer Officer OC 13th Sig. Coy AE in Perth WA 1914, WW1 Captain attached to Imperial Reserves to organize arrival of AIF in Egypt, returned to Aust. 1917, next of kin brother Edgar EVANS from Gladstone Qld. (who served in 2LH in WW1)
B5172: Wm. Drynan next of kin in South Brisbane Qld.
Source:# 669 Major William Drynan Jervoise EVANS, served in WW1 and was mentioned in despatches in Egypt, born 1874 in Queensland he died in 1948 at Bellevue Hill NSW.
URL1: WW1 AIF Major AIFHQ a municipal engineer building surveyor & town clerk aged 39 in 1914 born 1874 next of kin wife in Paddington NSW, Qld. Imperial Bushmen South Africa 1901 QSA & 4 clasps (CC OFS Tvl & SA01), 1st Div. Base Depot.
URL3: photo.
URL4: Lieut. WD EVANS 6th Contingent farewelled by Survey Dept. staff 25.3.1901.
URL5: Squabbling Swaddies. A Lieutenant in Trouble. Did He "Pinch the Poke"? He Must "'Pay, Pay, Pay". On Wednesday morning last [10.6.1903] two returned "Swaddies" came to the City Summons Court to get Messrs. RA RANKING and 0 ARMSTRONG PMs and various justices, to settle a little difference between them about seven gold sovereigns. The plaintiff, James Wm. GAMBLE, was a trooper in the Sixth QIB, and Messrs. MCGRATH (of Messrs McGrath & O'Neill) appeared for him. The defendant, Wm. D EVANS, who was a lieutenant in the same batch of Boer-baiters, was defended by Mr. NEILSON. PLAINTIFF'S STATEMENT was that in June, 1901, when at a place called Fort Petersburgh, S'Africa, he had orders to go with others and take a kopje; but before going he went to defendant, Lieutenant EVANS, and gave him £7 to take care of. That was the last he saw of defendant in S'Africa. He next saw him in Brisbane, at the Survey Office, and asked for his money, but with one excuse and another defendant always put witness off. He then went to the War Department pay office and made a formal complaint in writing, and afterwards instructed his solicitor. He saw defendant again but he declined to have anything to do with witness. By Mr. NEILSON - He gave defendant the money at Fort Petersburgh, but could not remember the date. He remembered when MILLS WAS KILLED, but could not say if it was in June, 1901. He was in the remount depot for a fortnight, at Standerton, in June, 1901. He afterwards rejoined Grey's column in July, 1902 (sic). He could not say the month defendant left the column. Plaintiff here got very loquacious, and volunteered the information, that he know the date upon which EVANS was dismissed from the service. Mr. NEILSON told him to answer questions, not to volunteer statement. This led to witness attempting to give the bench a vivid account of some occasions upon which he was one of a party which charged a kopje. Continuing his evidence, witness said he had done nothing since his return. Before he went away he had worked for the Railway and Lands Departments, and various other places. He was discharged from the Metropolitan Federal Building Society for being short in his cash. By Mr. RANKING - He could not remember the amount of cash he was short. Edwin ARNOLD, a mate of last witness, who was in the same contingent, gave evidence to GAMBLE giving money to defendant. There were several officers present at the time. He never saw EVANS again in South Africa. Wm. D EVANS, of the Survey Department, and formerly a lieutenant of the 6th QIB, said that on June 1, 1901, he was officer in command at the Remount Depot at Standerton. He denied that GAMBLE had ever given him £7 to take care of. On one occasion plaintiff had given him £10 to take care of, but this was returned at Frienoster Kop, in the Orange River Colony. Plaintiff WHEN HE GOT THE CASH, said he had never expected to see it again. He made a rough, note of the return of the cash in his pocket book at the time. He now produced that book. He owed GAMBLE absolutely nothing. By Mr. MCGRATH - Plaintiff had never given him any money to take care of except the £10 at Standerton. He never said, to a man named KENNEDY that his tent had been gone through, and that all the money including GAMBLE's had been taken, but that in consequence of what he (GAMBLE) had done he would not pay him a 'brown'. Patrick KENNEDY, another returned trooper, and who had been employed in the pay office as a clerk, said that he had unofficially seem about the £7. He had no interest in the matter at all, but he remembered perfectly defendant saying to him that his (defendant's) tent had been gone through, and a lot of cash taken, and that he had intended paying GAMBLE his, but owing to what he had done he would not now pay him a "brown". This was at the office, but he could not give the exact date. It was after September 1902 (sic). He had considered it his duty to tell Mr. GALL, his superior, what defendant told him, and did so a few days after. By Mr. RANKING - HE TOLD MR. GALL, but did not tell GAMBLE about defendant's conversation. Mr. NEILSON asked for a dismissal, and in reviewing the evidence said that his client was a man who had been for years a trusted servant in the Survey Department, and against whom nothing had ever been said, but that plaintiff had admitted that his connection with the Metropolitan Freehold Building Society had resulted in his discharge for dishonesty, and that since he came back from South Africa he had done nothing but loaf about. Mr. RANKING - Everybody who has not the good fortune to be in a billet is not a "loafer", Mr. NEILSON. Mr. MCGRATH said that he did not consider defendant the reliable witness that his solicitor wished to make out, and produced a letter initialled by Mr. GALL, to the effect that defendant was not entitled to any gratuity, and also that he (GALL) thought that GAMBLE's statement was a true one, and that EVANS did owe the money. The memo, Mr. MCGRATH said, went on to make some remarks about defendant which he would not read. The Bench gave judgment to plaintiff for £7, with £1 1s. professional costs, and 15s. witness expenses, and ordered half to be paid in seven days and the other half in one month.
URL6: Lieut. WD EVANS, of the Queensland Bushmen, gave me a call last Saturday [4.1.1902]. Well-known in Queensland athletic circles, he officiated as a judge of field games and walking at the Australasian Championships at Brisbane in 1899. Mr. EVANS has just returned from the war after nine months in South Africa. He looked fit and well.
Source References
Murray: Official Records of the Australian Contingents etc. page(s) 507 508 509
West Australian: West Australian newspaper date(s) 1.10.1901
Source:# Oz-Boer contributed source number 540
B5172: National Archives of Australia series B5172
Source:# Oz-Boer contributed source number 669
B2455: National Archives of Australia series B2455
Queenslander: The Queenslander newspaper date(s) 13.4.1901
Bne. Courier: Brisbane Courier newspaper date(s) 27.3.1901 TrutB: 14.6.1903
Referee: The Referee date(s) 8.1.1902
External Link URL1naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/imagine.asp?B=1910658&I=1&SE=1
External Link URL2www.archives.qld.gov.au/Researchers/CollectionsDownloads/Documents/boer_war_index_id18351.pdf
External Link URL3nla.gov.au/nla.news-page2403209
External Link URL4nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19117907
External Link URL5nla.gov.au/nla.news-article199293554
External Link URL6nla.gov.au/nla.news-article120117729


Please email me if you can contribute any other relevant information about this person (eg any other military service, where in Australia they came from or when/where they died). Also, if you find an external link broken.


Apology: For some time now it has been difficult to keep up with the newly available sources (especially the Trove newspaper site) plus the flow of contributions and queries. So I have been forced to prioritise maintenance and data entry over replying to correspondence. Nevertheless, your contributions are being added to the database and acknowledged on the contributions page and, although my replies are many months behind, I will attempt to get to them more often.
 
Colin Roe
Canberra

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