With grateful thanks to his grand-daughter Christine Dalton we now have details of Harold Butler Wyn Evans. As can be seen from his biography written by Christine below Harold Wyn Evans had a long association with the airship programme.
“Harold was born on November 1st 1885 in Hornsey, Middlesex. He was the eldest child of John Tom Evans, a Head teacher and, originally, from Brynammon, S.Wales, and Penelope Mary Annie Baker, from Baldock, Herts. After schooling at Crouch End Primary and Owen’s Grammar School Harold became an Engineer Cadet at the Royal Navy Engineering College at Devonport in 1902. He left in 1906 as the Senior Chief Cadet Captain and was awarded the Sword of Honour. He then went to the Royal Naval College at Greenwich where he qualified as a Naval Constructor.
His first posting in 1912 was to H.M. Dockyard, Portsmouth where he was Constructor Lieutenant on HMS Monarch during its sea trials and was on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet. In 1913 he joined the Admiralty D.N.C Department where he was now working on submarines and torpedo boats at Barrow and, in 1915, he was seconded to the Government’s Submarine Attack Committee.
He married Doris Lilian Matthews on December 31st 1914 in St Martin in the Fields Church, London. She was the daughter of Alderman David Matthews, J.P. from Swansea. He had also been Mayor of Swansea and M.P. for Swansea East. They had two children: John David (who was killed in WW2) and Eira Mary.
Later in 1915 he moved to be Admiralty Overseer for H.M. Rigid Airships and became Chief Admiralty Overseer in 1917. During this time, he worked on HMA R 9 in 1916 and both R 23 and R 26 in 1917. During 1918 he was involved with the R 29 and R 33 plus the R 39 in 1919. He was awarded the M.B.E. in 1919 for his contribution to the war effort.
In 1919 & into 1920, Harold (or Wyn as he was often known) was part of the Inter Allied Aeronautical Commission of Control in Germany. This group looked into the German military following the war. On his return in 1920, he became Head of Airship Design at the Royal Works, Bedford and made Superintendent in 1921.
He wrote a paper entitled ‘ The Standardization of Data for Airship Calculations’ which was read in March 1921 at the meeting of the Institution of Naval Architects. This is on file both in the Ventry Collection and in the USA. In fact, it has just been mentioned as a source for another academic work published in 2017.
Following the loss of R 38, when airship development ceased, Harold became Chief Technical Officer for the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment on the Isle of Grain and in Felixstowe in 1922. He returned to the Royal Works, Bedford in 1924 when airship activities resumed and was Officer in Charge of Design, Research & Construction of H.M. Airships until 1926.
In 1926 he was transferred to Farnborough and became Senior Technical Officer in the Airworthiness Department at the Royal Aircraft Establishment. In 1929 he moved to the Directorate of Technical Development at the Air Ministry in London for operational aircraft until 1933. Harold returned to Felixstowe in 1933 as the Chief Technical Officer for the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment where he was working with seaplanes.
1936 saw him back at the Air Ministry, and to the D.T.D., where he worked on Kite Balloons. This led him to become Superintendent at the Balloon Development Establishment in Bedford in 1939. In 1940 Balloon development was transferred to the Balloon Command, RAF and Harold was the Principal Technical Officer for Technical Intelligence at Harrogate whilst the transference took place. In 1941 he had his last posting to become Officer in Charge of the Aircraft Recognition, Training and Materials Branch, Ministry of Aircraft Production for all Allied Forces.
When this branch was absorbed into the Ministry of Supply in 1946 and due to being 60, he retired in May 1946.”
Thank you, Christine!