Alfred Evans
Alfred Frank Evans was employed as a Lookout aboard the maiden voyage of Titanic. Aboard Titanic he worked as a lookout in the crow’s nest. With George Hogg he was on watch each day from 12am to 2am, 6am to 8am, 12pm to 2pm and 6pm to 8pm. For serving as a lookout he was paid £5 plus an extra 5 shillings paid to lookouts.
Alfred Evans was born on 3rd February 1887 in Southampton, United Kingdom. His parents were Charles and Elizabeth Evans. He joined the Royal Navy Reserve on 14th July 1906.
He signed on as being a member of Titanic’s crew on 6th April 1912, and was then required to be aboard Titanic at 6am on 10th April. Before sailing on Titanic, his previous ship had been White Star Line’s Oceanic.
Off duty when Titanic struck the iceberg, it is likely Alfred Evans was asleep; George Hogg, whom he shared his watch in the crow’s nest with, had been woken up due to the confusion in the forecastle after the collision, and had gone up on deck, found there to not have been much confusion there and went back below. It is possible he was joined by Alfred Evans.
After George Hogg asked him what the time was, 12.45, they decided to get ready to go on duty.
At 12am, 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, and 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 being there in the crow’s nest for around 20 minutes.
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.
After Titanic, later on, he served aboard Titanic’s near identical sister ship Olympic.
He served is country 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.
Alfred Evans died in Southampton on 1st February 1964, aged 76.
Related pages - Titanic Lookouts and Crow's Nest, All Titanic Pages