Alfred Frank Evans was a Look Out Man aboard Titanic.
Background[]
Alfred Evans was born on 3rd February 1887 in Southampton. His parents were Charles and Elizabeth Russell. He joined the Royal Navy Reserve on 14th July 1906, being 19 years old.
Titanic[]
He signed on as a member of Titanic’s crew on the 6th of April 1912 in Southampton. He had just sailed on the RMS Oceanic before, another White Star Line vessel. With George Hogg, he was on watch each day from 12 A.M. to 2 A.M, 6 A.M to 8 A.M, 12 P.M. to 2 P.M. and 6 P.M. to 8 P.M. His wage was £5 plus 5 shillings a month.
Off duty when Titanic struck the iceberg, it is likely that Alfred Evans was asleep; George Hogg, whom he was paired with for his watch in the crow’s nest ,had been woken up due to the confusion in the forecastle after the collision, and had gone up on deck, found nothing interesting nor concerning there and returned down below. It is possible he was joined by Alfred Evans.
After George Hogg asked him what the time was, he said 11.45 P.M. They decided to get ready to go on duty. At 12 A.M, around 20 minutes after the collision with the iceberg, Alfred Evans and George Hogg climbed up to the crow’s nest and relieved Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee, the lookouts who first spotted the iceberg.
From the crow’s nest they could see people with lifebelts on. Following a failed attempt by George Hogg to telephone the bridge to ask if they were wanted in the crow’s nest, they climbed down after having been in the crow’s nest for around 20 minutes. Seemingly the officers had forgotten all about them.
Alfred Evans escaped from Titanic in lifeboat 15, one of the most crowded lifeboats to leave the ship and the last of the main lifeboats to leave the starboard side. He was put in command of the boat.
Later life[]
Later on, he served aboard Titanic’s near identical sister ship Olympic.
He was a soldier during the First World War.
At some point after the First World War he worked for Harland and Wolff’s Southampton shipyard. He later worked for Camper & Nicholsons shipyard in Southampton. He continued to work at dockyards until a fall forced him to retire.
Throughout life, he chose to never speak about the sinking of the Titanic.
Alfred Evans died in Southampton on 1st February 1964, aged 76.