A half-length oval portrait, slightly to the right, showing Evans in his fleet paymaster’s uniform of about 1880, wearing the Egypt medal, the 1853 South Africa medal, the Baltic medal and the Khedive star. The portrait was probably painted at Harwich in 1883–84.
William Evans joined the Navy in 1853 as a clerk in the 50-gun frigate HMS ‘Imperieuse’, serving in South Africa and the Baltic. He was then stationed in the Pacific in HMS ‘Monarch’, 84 guns, between 1854 and 1858. He was promoted full paymaster in 1863, serving in the Mediterranean and at Chatham and Sheerness. Continued service saw him on the North America station and in the East Indies. Evans was in HMS ‘Penelope’ at the bombardment of Alexandria in 1882, staying with her for the remainder of his career after she became the drill ship at Harwich. He retired in 1884 with the rank of paymaster in chief.