World War, 1914-1918 -- Naval operations -- Submarine; World War, 1914-1918 -- United States
Another officer who contributed greatly to the efficiency of the
American forces was Captain E. R. G. R. Evans, R.N., who was detailed by
Admiral Jellicoe at my request to act as liaison officer with our
destroyers. No more fortunate selection could have been made. Captain
Evans had earned fame as second in command of the Scott Antarctic
expedition; he had spent much time in the United States and knew our
people well; indeed when war broke out he was lecturing in our country
on his polar experiences. A few days before our division arrived Captain
Evans had distinguished himself in one of the most brilliant naval
actions of the war. He was commander of the destroyer-leader _Broke_--a
"destroyer-leader" being a destroyer of unusually large size--and in
this battle three British vessels of this type had fought six German
destroyers. Captain Evans's ship sank one German destroyer and rammed
another, passing clear over its stern and cutting it nearly in two. The
whole of England was ringing with this exploit, and it was a decided
tribute to our men that Admiral Jellicoe consented to detail the
commander of the _Broke_. He was a man of great intelligence, great
energy, and, what was almost equally to the point, he was extremely
companionable; whether he was relating his experiences at the South
Pole, or telling us of active life on a destroyer, or swapping yarns
with our officers, or giving us the value of his practical experiences
in the war, Captain Evans was always at home with our men--indeed, he
seemed to be almost one of us.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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