Roger Evans (British Army officer)

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.

Roger Evans
Born(1886-01-09)9 January 1886
Christchurch, Hampshire, England
Died22 October 1968(1968-10-22) (aged 82)
Stocklinch, Ilminster, Somerset, England
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1911−1944
RankMajor General
Service number23006
Unit7th Queen's Own Hussars
5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards
Commands heldAldershot Area
1st Armoured Division
5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards
Battles/warsWorld War I
World War II
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath
Military Cross
Mentioned in despatches

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
  1. EVANS, Maj.-Gen. Roger. Who Was Who. A & C Black. December 2007.
  2. "Evans, Roger". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  3. Smart, 98
  4. Orders of Battle – September 1939
  5. "No. 34939". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 September 1940. p. 5389.
  6. "No. 35126". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 April 1941. p. 1952.
  7. "No. 35903". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 February 1943. p. 805.
  8. "No. 36743". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 October 1944. p. 4675.
  9. "No. 30901". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 September 1918. p. 10947.
  10. "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)
  11. "No. 35204". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 June 1941. pp. 3735–3736.
  12. "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.
Military offices
Preceded by
Alan Brooke		 GOC 1st Armoured Division
1938–1940		 Succeeded by
Willoughby Norrie
Honorary titles
Preceded by
Sir Tom Bridges		 Colonel of the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards
1937–1947		 Succeeded by
Sir Charles Keightley
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