

Serving during World War I and known as 'Henry Evans', George was severely wounded at Gallipoli in 1916. He was invalided home, but died in Katikati during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. Story by Debbie McCauley.
George John Harry Evans was born in 1887 (reg. 1887/9660). His parents were George and Annie Evans (nee Adcock) who married in 1885 (reg. 1885/3591).
Known as 'Henry Evans', George worked as a civil engineer for the Opotiki Borough Council. His brother, Charles Edward Evans (1886- ), was the Borough Engineer in Opotiki.
He was a private with the Auckland Infantry Regiment.
George saw action in Egypt during 1914 to 1916.
On 18 April 1914 he received a gunshot wound to his left shoulder while fighting at Gallipoli.
He was invalided to New Zealand on board the 'Tahiti' on 5 June 1916, 'no longer physically fit for war service on account of wounds received in action'.
On 2 April 1918 George married Frances Emily Salmon at Te Aroha (reg. 1918/2884). Frances was born at Charlbury Mill, Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire, England, the daughter of John and Louisa Salmon (nee Martin) who married on 21 July 1882. She lived at Long Compton in Warwickshire and had trained as a midwife, but had resigned from her nursing post in 1913 owing to ill health.
George died just eight months after being married, on 1 December 1918, aged 31 (reg. 1918/9926). He was a victim of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. George was buried in Katikati Cemetery (Anglican Block A plot 89).
Frances died on 26 August 1956 and was also buried in Katikati Cemetery (Anglican Block A plot 161).
References:
Ancestry.com
Archives New Zealand: Military Personnel File.
Auckland War Memorial Museum: Cenotaph Record.
Births, Deaths & Marriages Online (New Zealand).
Find A Grave: Katikati Cemetery Records.
Year: | 1918 |
Note: | Service Number: 12/2284 |
First Names: | George John Harry |
Last Name: | Evans |
Date of Birth: | 1887 |
Country of birth: | New Zealand |
Date of death: | 1 December 1918 |
Place of death: | Katikati, New Zealand |
Place of burial: | Katikati Cemetery |
Occupation: | civil engineer |
Spouses name: | Frances Emily Salmon |
Spouses date of birth: | 14 July 1887 |
Spouses place of birth: | Charlbury Mill, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England |
Spouses date of death: | 26 August 1956 |
Spouses place of death: | New Zealand |
Spouses place of burial: | Katikati Cemetery |
Date of marriage: | 2 April 1918 |
Place of marriage: | Te Aroha, New Zealand |
Fathers name: | George Evans |
Mothers name: | Annie Adcock |
Military Service: | World War I (1914-1918) |