Leslie Evans – Merchant Navy, S.S. Matina

Fireman & Trimmer Leslie Evans – Merchant Navy, S.S. Matina

Early Life

Leslie Evans was born in 1912 in Swansea, the son of John Evans and Jessie Evans. There is no surviving record of Leslie in the 1921 Census, suggesting he may have been living elsewhere at the time or that the family’s entry was not captured.

Service in the Merchant Navy

Leslie later joined the Merchant Navy, serving as a Fireman and Trimmer, a demanding role deep in the stokehold of a steamship. His duties included feeding the boilers, managing coal supplies, and ensuring the vessel maintained the steam power required for propulsion. At the time of his final voyage, his recorded address was 11 Trinity Street, Bristol.

He served aboard the S.S. Matina, a British merchant steamer operated by Elders & Fyffes Ltd., a company whose vessels were well known for transporting bananas from the Caribbean to Britain.

Loss of the S.S. Matina – 26^th October 1940

S.S. Matina
credit - wrecksite

The S.S. Matina was a 5,389‑ton British merchant steamer, built in 1929 and operated by Elders & Fyffes Ltd. On 12 October 1940, she sailed from Port Antonio, Jamaica, bound for Garston, carrying a cargo of 1,500 tons of bananas—a perishable but strategically important wartime commodity.

By late 1940, the Battle of the Atlantic had intensified dramatically. German U‑boats were patrolling the shipping lanes between the Caribbean and Britain, targeting unescorted merchant ships with increasing success.

On 26^th October 1940, while crossing the North Atlantic, the Matina was attacked by the German submarine U‑28, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Günter Kuhnke. U‑28 launched a torpedo that struck the vessel with devastating force. The explosion caused catastrophic damage, and the ship began to sink rapidly.

The crew had little time to react. In the cold Atlantic waters and with the ship going down quickly, survival was almost impossible. The tragedy was immense: all 70 crew members and the single passenger were lost. There were no survivors.

The sinking of the Matina stands as one of the many devastating losses suffered by the Merchant Navy during the early years of the war, when German U‑boats held a deadly advantage in the Atlantic.

Death and Commemoration

Merchant Seamen Deaths

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

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

According to the Merchant Seamen Deaths register, Fireman and Trimmer Leslie Evans, of 11 Trinity Street, Bristol, lost his life on 26^th October 1940 when the S.S. Matina was sunk. As he has no known grave, his name is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, London, which honours the thousands of Merchant Navy personnel who died at sea during both world wars.