Henry Evans (20 May 1923 – 11 February 1999) was a sergeant in the 6th Airborne Division and a Special Air Service operative under the command of Captain Humphrey Price. As a soldier of the 6th Airborne Regiment, he took part in Operation Overlord. Later, as part of the SAS, he helped destroy the Eder Dam in Germany for the second time, sabotage the German battleship Tirpitz in preparation for the bombing of the British Air Force and destroy the German V-2 missile base
Biography[]
Early life[]
Born on May 20, 1923 in Manchester, United Kingdom, he grew up in a family of a World War I veteran. In December 1940, Evans' first love, Barbara, tragically dies during a bombing and Evans decided to take revenge.
Operation Overlord[]
On June 6, 1944, Pavance was part of Company D of the 6th Airborne Division, which was ordered to capture the Pegasus Bridge.After recovering from the loss of consciousness after an unstable landing, Evans suppressed the bunker with his Bren so that the company could capture it. Then, on Price's orders, he had Mills work on an anti-aircraft gun to destroy a tank that was hindering their advance.
Later in the morning, towards noon, the D Company had to defend the bridge. The initial assault began with mortar fire. German infantry started flooding from the west, and pretty soon, all directions. When the company fell back, Evans covered them by mounting the MG42. While they waited for reinforcements, Evans destroyed tanks with the FlaK 88. D Company was finally relieved after a four-minute German assault.
SAS[]
After the battle, he and his superior, Captain Price, transferred to the SAS, under the orders of SOE. They were to work with Sgt. Waters.
Their first mission was to sabotage anti-aircraft guns and destroy the generators with explosives at the Eder Dam in preparation for future RAF bombing missions. Evans destroyed the anti-aircraft guns and managed to plant explosives on the generators. Evans was then extracted by Price and Waters via an Opel Blitz. The trio attempted to escape to a German airfield and were immediately pursued by enemy vehicles. During the pursuit, they utilized a supply of Panzerfausts on the truck and Waters destroyed a bridge to hinder their progress. When they entered the airfield, Waters received word that the rest of the team was commandeering a FW-2000 Condor for their escape. To distract the Germans while they were doing this, Evans got on a Flakverling and shot down a squadron of Stuka dive bombers stationed at the field.
Later, Evans went on a mission to disable the German battleship Tirpitz for RAF bombing runs. Captain Price and Evans infiltrated the ship using fake identities. When they got down to the armory to plant the explosives, an officer became suspicious while checking their identities, prompting Price to shoot him. Unfortunately, this got the attention of the ship's crew. Price ordered Evans to plant the explosives on the ship's boilers and attempted to hold off Kreigsmarine troops, but he was overwhelmed and killed in the ship's armory. Evans proceeded to the bridge, destroyed the communications equipment and grabbed the naval log. Escaping, he told Waters that Price was dead, and they both mourned momentarily.
After receiving information that the Americans had discovered a V2 launch site, Evans then helped take out a V2 launchpad called Batterie #445 with Sgt. Waters and other members of the SAS. First, he took out two Flakverlings with Sgt. Waters. Then he met up with the rest of the squad and destroyed the rockets by fueling them up and then planting explosives. After that, the team exfiltrated out of the area. It is unknown what happened to Sgt. Evans, but it is presumed he survived the war.
Later life[]
After the war, having gained valuable experience, Evans began to move up the career ladder in the paratroopers. Until a very old age, he often saw Waters. Now peacefully living out his old age in Manchester.