Arthur Ernest Evans – Welsh Regiment, 19th (Service) Battalion (Glamorgan Pioneers)

Captain Arthur Ernest Evans – Welsh Regiment, 19^th (Service) Battalion (Glamorgan Pioneers)

Birth and Family Background

Arthur Ernest Evans was born in 1885, the son of Henry George Evans and Marie Beatrice Thomas.

1891 Census

At the time of the 1891 Census, the Evans family were living at 17 Freefold Street, Swansea. Henry George Evans (59), born in Cardiff, was living on private means, while his wife Marie Beatrice (35) was born in Merthyr Tydfil. Their children were Arthur E. (6), Nellie (4), Elsie J. (4), all attending school, along with Henry H. (3) and Thomas (1). Also present in the household was a visitor, Annie Walters (34).

1901 Census

By the 1901 Census, the family had moved to 2 Lewis Terrace, Llandeilo Fawr, Carmarthenshire. Marie Beatrice Evans, now a widow aged 46, was living on her own means. Her children were Arthur (16), Nellie (14), Elsie (14), and Thomas (11), all recorded as Swansea-born. Also residing in the household was Bessie Thomas (38), Marie’s sister, who was employed as a housekeeper.

1911 Census

At the time of the 1911 Census, the family were living at 6 Rosehill Terrace, Swansea. Marie Beatrice Evans (56) was recorded as living on private means. Her children at home were Arthur (25), born in Ystalyfera and working as a surveyor; Elsie (24); Nellie (24), employed as a children’s governess; and Thomas (21), a clerk.

Military Service

During the First World War, Arthur Ernest Evans was commissioned and served as a Captain with the Welsh Regiment, 19^th (Service) Battalion (Glamorgan Pioneers). The battalion was raised in Glamorgan and was trained as a pioneer unit, combining infantry duties with essential engineering and labour tasks in forward areas.

Welsh Regiment, 19th (Service) Battalion (Glamorgan Pioneers) — 24^th June 1917

On 24^th June 1917, the battalion was serving on the Western Front in Belgium, operating within the wider Ypres Salient during a period of intense activity in the weeks leading up to the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele).

The Glamorgan Pioneers were heavily engaged in road and trench construction, revetment and consolidation of defensive positions, and the maintenance of communications and supply routes close to the front line. These tasks were carried out under frequent German artillery fire, as pioneer working parties were regular targets due to their visibility and the importance of their work.

Throughout June 1917, German forces maintained persistent shelling of trench systems, roads, and working areas. Even in the absence of major infantry assaults, casualties occurred daily from high-explosive shells and shrapnel. Officers, including company commanders, were often required to supervise work parties in exposed positions, sharing the same dangers as their men.

It was during this period of sustained artillery fire and hazardous front-line labour on 24^th June 1917 that Arthur Ernest Evans was killed in action, reflecting the constant risks faced by pioneer battalions operating close to the fighting line.

Death and Burial

Arthur Ernest Evans
Bard Cottage Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
credit - findagrave

Arthur Ernest Evans was killed in action on 24^th June 1917. He is buried at Bard Cottage Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium, a cemetery closely associated with casualties from the Ypres sector, particularly those lost during routine but deadly trench and artillery warfare.

His service illustrates the vital yet often overlooked role of pioneer units, whose dangerous work under fire was essential to sustaining British operations on the Western Front.