Leslie Charles Evans – Merchant Navy, S.S. Empire Amethyst

Ordinary Seaman Leslie Charles Evans – Merchant Navy, S.S. Empire Amethyst

Early Life

Leslie Charles Evans was born in 1925 in Swansea, the son of William Evans and Mabel Evans. Growing up during the interwar years, he belonged to a generation whose youth was shaped by global conflict. Like many young men of his age, he entered wartime service early, joining the Merchant Navy while still in his teens.

Service in the Merchant Navy

Leslie served as an Ordinary Seaman aboard the S.S. Empire Amethyst, a British tanker operated by the Ministry of War Transport. Tankers such as the Empire Amethyst were among the most vital—and most vulnerable—ships at sea during the Second World War. They transported fuel supplies essential to Allied naval, air, and ground operations across the world. Their flammable cargoes meant that a single torpedo strike could turn a ship into an inferno within seconds.

Sinking of the S.S. Empire Amethyst – 14^th  April 1942

The S.S. Empire Amethyst was sailing independently from New Orleans to Freetown when she came under attack in the South Atlantic on 14^th April 1942. The German submarine U‑154, operating as part of the expanding U‑boat campaign in the mid‑Atlantic, fired a torpedo that struck the tanker with devastating force.

The explosion ignited the ship’s highly flammable cargo almost instantly. Within moments, the Empire Amethyst was engulfed in flames, turning the vessel into a blazing inferno visible for miles. The crew had almost no chance to escape. The tanker sank rapidly, and many of those on board were lost in the fire and the surrounding burning sea.

The destruction of the Empire Amethyst was one of many tragedies suffered by unescorted merchant ships during this period, highlighting the extreme dangers faced by Merchant Navy personnel throughout the Battle of the Atlantic. Their work was essential to the Allied war effort, yet they sailed under constant threat from submarines, aircraft, and surface raiders.

Death and Commemoration

Leslie Charles Evans
Tower Hill Memorial
credit - Benjidog Histroical Research Resources.
The Merchant Navy Memorial

Ordinary Seaman Leslie Charles Evans lost his life on 14^th April 1942 when the Empire Amethyst was sunk. Like so many Merchant Navy men who died at sea with no known grave, his name is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, London, which honours the thousands of merchant seafarers who gave their lives during both world wars.