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Evan
was saved during the sinking of Repulse by a large stoker from South
Wales, but could not recall his name.
Evans father was a boatman on Barmouth harbor. Evan as a young boy helped his father to take some of the well to do visitors and residents of the area on small trips around the harbor and up the
estuary. Clearly this was where he got the love of the sea.
Some of the more notable people were the Greeners and Lea and Perrins. The Greeners were gun manufacturers, they made guns for the American west including Doc Holiday and the
Earps, they were also big suppliers of guns in both world wars. Lea &
Perrins are the famous sauce manufacturers, these people were big benefactors to the
Barmouth village in the 1930's.
The Repulse
He told us that when the boat was torpedoed he hung on for dear life to a big stoker who pulled him up the ladder and out of the boat and they went into the water together - what happened to the stoker after that no one new.
He was from South Wales though.
Evan told us that he spent hours in the water and how scared he was when the sharks came around.- he also said he was talking to a guy in the water who had very little conversation ---- he was already dead and was gone from the waist down.
He told us of the horrors of the P.O.W. camp and how they were lucky when the guards gave them a snake or a rat to supplement
their rations. he suffered later on in life from the injuries and exposure to disease from the
camp. He was not much more than skin and bone when he returned home. He married Doreen in 1947and later had two children Wendy & Lynne, he has four grandchildren. he sadly died of kidney
failure on 3rd June 2001, aged 81.
Victor Biddle.
Evan David Jones - My neighbour at 5, Heol-y-Llan a ferryman, Harbour Master and lifeboat coxwain
Evan David Jones served on HMS Repulse in the South China Sea at the age of 21. It was torpedoed by the Japanese and he was later picked up by an Australian vessel which was sunk in the same manner two weeks later. He was captured by the Japanese on Feb 13th 1941 and was interned in a prisoner of war camp on Banka Island. He was soon transferred to Changi Jail in Singapore, where he spent the remainder of the war. He was released on 23 September 1945. His home address at the time was
1, Goronwy Terrace, Barmouth. He never left Barmouth again apart from holidays. He was a postman, a decorator, a ferryboat owner, and became Harbour Master and coxswain of the Barmouth lifeboat. He was decorated many times for his bravery and was presented to Princess Diana (see
photograph). He died on the 3rd June 2001 aged 81 years.
John
Pugh.
Information
taken from details on this webpage:
http://home.att.net/~pughimag/people_rem.html
It's
part of the Barmouth
website where Evan was the Harbourmaster and Coxswain of the
Barmouth Lifeboat.
Please
contact Andy (webmaster) with any information.
Andy
Wade (Webmaster) |
