221770 Pte. Daniel Evans British Army 10th Btn. Highland Light Infantry from:Duntocher (d.17th June 1916) Daniel Evans was born in Duntocher in 1890, and was a shipyard worker as far as I know. He named his sister Margaret Mochan as his beneficiary. Both his parents had died in 1900. Another of his sisters, Mary Evans was my maternal grandmother.
According to his service medal record he disembarked in France on 1st of May 1915 so presumably he took part in and survived the Battle of Loos when his regiment, 10th HLI, lost over 600 men.
He was killed in action on the 17th of June 1916 and is buried in Vermelles British Cemetery alongside some other HLI's killed on or either side of the same date. I visited him September 2013 and wept. It really is amazing how moving this experience is given the I never knew him.
The war diary of 10/11 HLI for the day simply records that it was a normal day getting parties together to take gas cylinders to the front line trenches.
He's on the war memorial on the side of the old Clydebank town hall.
I've tried in vain to fine more details about the circumstances of his death. I can only surmise he was killed by gas or sniper fire as he has his own grave so I'd like to think he wasn't obliterated by a shell. My only hope is that he didn't suffer.
Until I started to research my family history I didn't even know he'd existed. My mother, his niece, was born 5 years after his death.
Unfortunately it seems his service records were lost in WW2 and I do not have a picture but he will never be forgotten in my family.
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