The Naval Pensioner of Llanstadwell
For many years, the people of Llanstadwell knew him simply as “the Naval Pensioner.” Each day he could be seen walking steadily through the village lanes, a familiar figure whose bearing still carried the discipline of the Royal Navy and he was a reminder of distant seas and the great warships that once filled the Haven.
William Evans with wife Elizabeth Richards,
sons William Victor and Thomas Gordon sitting on his mother’s knee
That man was Petty Officer William Evans (1849–1906) our great grandfather, born at Hill Mountain in Burton, raised within sight of Pembroke Dockyard, and shaped by more than twenty years of service across the globe. From the icy seas off Cape Horn to the heat of China and the Mediterranean, his life followed the expansion of Britain’s nineteenth-century navy. Yet, like so many Pembrokeshire sailors, he returned home at the end of his service, bringing with him experience, quiet authority, and stories that were seldom written down.
Thanks to census records and surviving Royal Navy documents held at The National Archives, we are able to trace his career ship by ship, promotion by promotion, and see clearly the disciplined, honourable service that earned him his pension and his medal.
This is the story of the man behind the village memory — the Naval Pensioner of Llanstadwell.
Early Life in Burton and Llanstadwell
Our great Grandfather, William Evans was born on 29 January 1849 at Hill Mountain, Burton, Pembrokeshire. He was the son of Thomas Evans, a shipwright employed in Pembroke Dockyard, and Jane Thomas of Barnlake, Burton. Census records for 1851 and 1861 show William growing up in a modest household with several siblings, first at Hill Mountain, Sardis and later at Barnlake Point.
By the middle of the nineteenth century, Pembroke Dockyard had become the biggest employer in the county. Established in 1814, it launched major naval vessels and drew carpenters, shipwrights, caulkers and labourers from the surrounding villages. For a young boy in Burton, the sight of great wooden warships taking shape across the Haven would have been powerful. The Navy offered training, food, secure pay and the chance to see the world.
William’s father died in 1858, leaving Jane a widow with several children. The 1861 census lists her as head of the household. Many boys who lost their fathers entered the Navy because it provided stability. It is easy to imagine William seeing naval service as a route to a steadier future.
Joining the Royal Navy
On 21 January 1864, just before his fifteenth birthday, William enlisted in the Royal Navy. His entry papers in the National Archives describe him as fair in complexion with brown hair and grey eyes and fit for sea service. He could read and write to the required standard, and he passed the medical examination.
He reported to HMS Blenheim on 23 January 1864. Blenheim acted as a receiving and training ship at Devonport. Boys on Blenheim learned basic seamanship, were issued their hammocks and uniforms, and were introduced to the strict routines of naval life. They rose early, scrubbed decks, practised knots and signals, and learned to follow orders quickly. Clothes were washed in seawater and dried along the rigging. Food was plain and repetitive. Everything had to be kept orderly and inspected.
After about a month he was posted to sea, beginning a long career recorded in detail in his Admiralty service book (ADM 188), which survives intact in The National Archives. It is something the family can be proud of that his entire naval history is preserved line by line.
Service at Sea
Below is a complete account of William’s ships, drawn directly from his service record, with a description of what he would have experienced in each posting.
HMS Ariadne, 1 January 1873 to 2 September 1873
Ariadne served on the North America and West Indies Station. William would have visited Halifax, Bermuda and Caribbean ports. He would have seen warm climates, crowded harbours and communities very different from Pembrokeshire. His conduct rating was Very Good. Shipboard life included regular gunnery drills, constant ropework and endless cleaning. Hammocks were slung each night and stowed each morning. The routine was strict but familiar.
HMS Excellent, 3 September 1873 to 30 August 1874
Excellent was the Navy’s main gunnery school at Portsmouth. Here William was trained in the use of large naval guns. Crews practised loading, aiming and firing until they could operate as one unit. This training was physically demanding but essential for advancement. His conduct remained Very Good.
HMS Audacious, 31 August 1874 to 27 April 1876
Audacious was the flagship of the China Station. This took William to East Asian waters at a time of political change and naval expansion. He may have visited Hong Kong, Shanghai, Japan and treaty ports along the coast of China. Markets would have been filled with new colours, foods and sounds that a Pembrokeshire sailor had never experienced.
Conditions aboard were tough. The heat was intense, metal fittings grew hot and the decks required constant cleaning. Sailors washed their clothes in buckets of seawater. Weapons had to be kept clean and free from rust. During this posting William was promoted to Petty Officer Second Class. His conduct was now recorded as Exemplary.
HMS Thalia, 28 April 1876 to 25 July 1876
Thalia served in the Pacific. Her return to Britain required sailing around Cape Horn. This was one of the most dangerous routes in the world, known for freezing spray and violent storms. During this passage William suffered frostbite to his foot. The injury healed only partially and years later caused an infection that contributed to his death in 1906. Family memory and his naval record together support this account.
HMS Excellent, 26 July 1876 to 15 October 1876
A further period at the gunnery school. Conduct remained Exemplary.
HMS Serapis, 16 October 1876 to April 1877
Serapis served as a troopship on the route between Britain, Egypt and India. By this time the Suez Canal had opened in 1869, so William travelled through the canal on his way to the Indian Ocean. This route shortened the voyage and transformed global naval movement.
He would have seen the desert landscape of Egypt, busy eastern ports and the bustle of Indian cities. Troopships were crowded, and sailors worked constantly to keep the ship clean and ready. His conduct continued to be Exemplary.
HMS Excellent, 1 May 1877 to 6 August 1877
A short refresher period. He was promoted to Petty Officer First Class.
HMS Temeraire, 7 August 1877 to 31 December 1880
Temeraire was a modern ironclad warship in the Portsmouth Division. Life aboard meant maintaining machinery, cleaning guns, checking equipment and taking part in regular drills. William held a position of responsibility as Petty Officer. His performance remained consistently strong.
HMS Duke of Wellington, January 1881 to August 1881
This ship served as a receiving ship at Portsmouth. Originally named HMS Windsor Castle, she had been built in Pembroke Dock and launched in 1852. Because William’s father had been a shipwright there during that period, it is very possible that he helped to build the vessel his son later served on.
HMS Repulse, 19 August 1881 to 26 July 1883
Repulse served with the Channel Squadron. William travelled between British ports, French ports and the approaches to the Atlantic. Provisions were taken on in port, but much of the diet remained salted meat and ship’s biscuit. Deck cleaning, washing clothing in seawater and regular inspections formed the rhythm of each day.
HMS Excellent, July to August 1883
Another training period.
HMS Castor, from 28 August 1883
Castor served in the Mediterranean and other stations. This was William’s final posting. His record shows that he was honourably discharged to pension at North Shields.
Medal and Conduct
William received the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 29 April 1877. This was awarded only to men whose behaviour and service met a consistently high standard. Very Good and Exemplary conduct marks appear throughout his record. It is remarkable that The National Archives preserves the entire document, allowing his descendants a complete view of his career from beginning to end.
Return to Llanstadwell
After discharge William returned to Pembrokeshire. He settled again in Hazelbeach and Llanstadwell. In 1887 he married Margaret Elizabeth Richards of Trafalgar Terrace. Her father was Richard Richards, a shipwright, which joined two dockyard families.
Local memory held that William walked through the village each day and became known simply as the Naval Pensioner. He was respected for his long service and for the discipline that marked a lifetime at sea.
Death
William Evans died on 24 February 1906 at the age of 57. The cause of death was gangrene arising from the long-term effects of frostbite he had suffered many years earlier while serving at sea. The damaged tissue never fully healed, and in later life the injury became infected beyond recovery. He was laid to rest at Honeyborough, among the community where he had grown up and to which he had returned after more than two decades in the Royal Navy.
Though his service carried him across oceans and into distant ports, his life came full circle in Llanstadwell. The familiar figure once known in the village as the “Naval Pensioner” is now part of its history, remembered not only through family records and naval documents, but through the quiet local memory of a man who served his country and then came home.
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