Hugh Evan-Thomas

Admiral Sir Hugh Evan-Thomas, GCB, KCMG, MVO (27 October 1862 – 30 August 1928) was a British Royal Navy officer.

During World War I he commanded the 5th Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet, flying his flag in HMS Barham, and fought at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916.

Evan-Thomas' family came from Wales, where they had owned the Llwynmadoc estate near Beulah, Powys, for two hundred years. The family also owned the Gnoll at Neath in Glamorgan and Pencerrig at Builth Wells, but nonetheless suffered a shortage of money to support their seven children in the style they might have wished. Evan-Thomas had to rely upon his own salary rather than family money to support himself through his life.

Hugh Evan-Thomas was born the son of Charles Evan-Thomas, who was High Sheriff of Brecknockshire for 1885 and died at Cople in Bedfordshire aged 65 on 30 August 1928. A memorial service was held at Eglwys Oen Duw church in Llwynmadoc, Wales. A brass plaque in the church records his death. A year later, the council of Neath, Glamorgan, purchased the Gnoll estate where Evan-Thomas was born to serve as a public park, where a war memorial would be erected. Jellicoe wrote a tribute to Evan-Thomas saying, 'If I had one loyal and splendid supporter during the Great War in the Grand Fleet, one who never failed me, one who led his ships magnificently, and not only led them magnificently but brought them to a pitch of efficiency that was a pattern for the whole of the Grand fleet, It was Admiral Sir Hugh Evan-Thomas'.

In 1877, at the age of 15, Hugh Thomas was a naval cadet on the training ship HMS Britannia. In September, the royal princes George Frederick and his elder brother, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, both joined the ship as part of their education. The princes' tutor, John Neale Dalton, who accompanied them, approved of Thomas and permitted him to become friends with the boys. Thomas left Britannia in December 1877, but not before a friendship was established. George sent him a Christmas card (from 'Sprat', while Albert was 'herring' and Thomas 'Old Voice'), both wrote letters and Dalton wrote to Thomas requesting that he write back and remain in contact.

In February 1878, Thomas was posted to the barque-rigged battery ship HMS Swiftsure, which was part of the Mediterranean fleet commanded by Sir Geoffrey Phipps Hornby. Thomas' father, Charles Evan Thomas, changed the family name from Thomas to Evan-Thomas. Thomas' report from the ship's captain, Nowell Salmon, reported that Midshipman Evan-Thomas had "conducted himself with sobriety zeal & attention & to my satisfaction". Swiftsure was stationed in the Gulf of Saros off Gallipoli in July 1878 when Evan-Thomas and another officer were ashore and were arrested by Russian soldiers. The matter was shortly resolved and the men released, but was a reflection of continuing tension in the area just after signing of the treaty of Berlin.

In August 1878, Evan-Thomas transferred to the barque-rigged turret ship, HMS Monarch, captained by Algernon Lyons, who was his first cousin once removed. Lyons reported he "conducted himself with sobriety and entirely to my satisfaction", but his successor as captain of Monarch, George Tryon, described him as "a very promising young officer in every respect".

In 1879, Evan-Thomas was chosen to join HMS Bacchante, as part of a crew hand-picked to be a good influences on the two princes who now continued their naval careers on the ship. Bacchante made three cruises: the first to the Mediterranean and West Indies, the second to Spain and Ireland, and the third a round-world trip. The third cruise departed South Railway Jetty in September 1880 in the company of three other corvettes and the frigate HMS Inconstant. The planned itinerary was interrupted by the first Boer War, causing consternation for Queen Victoria that her grandsons were now in a war zone. However, the ship was not involved in action and royal activities were limited to visits to Zulu chief Cetshwayo and other social functions. A more serious danger to the ship occurred in a storm off Western Australia, where the rudder was damaged and the ship could only be brought safely under control by sending men aloft so that their bodies acted as makeshift sails to turn the ship. Evan-Thomas was one of the few people allowed to socialise with the princes. In June 1881, he became senior midshipman and their regular companion on trips ashore. These included trips for riding, shooting, visits to gold mines and other sightseeing locations, and a visit from the Emperor in Japan. In spring 1882, Baccante returned to the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal and stopped to visit the princes' uncle, King George I of Greece. On 6 June 1882, Evan-Thomas departed the ship to return home, having been promoted to sub-lieutenant.