THE story of a courageous Llanilar man who received the Victoria Cross is featured in a new book on bravery.

Lewis Evans was awarded the VC in November 1917 and became Wales’s most decorated officer of the conflict.

The author of the book is Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC, businessman, philanthropist, author and pollster. This is the sixth in his ‘Heroes’ series and is based on his personal collection of Victoria Crosses, now totalling 200. Royalties from it are being donated to military charities.

Recounting the life of the local hero, Lord Ashcroft writes: “Lewis Pugh Evans was born in Llanilar on 3 January 1881; the family home at nearby Llanbadarn was being rebuilt at the time.

“He was from a wealthy, respected Welsh-speaking family, one of six children of Sir Griffith and his wife, Emelia. He enjoyed a classic officer’s education, attending Eton before the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, from 1899. At Eton, one of his tutors said ‘he has plenty of spirit and will do well when he gets a bit bigger!’”

“Evans had hoped for a commission in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, but was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Royal Highlanders (the Black Watch), a Scottish regiment, in December 1899.

“During his service in South Africa, he was present at several of the larger battles, promoted to lieutenant in May 1901 and also taken prisoner by the Boers.

“Evans next served in India. He developed a passion for flying, taking lessons while at the Staff College in Camberley, Surrey, and, as a 32-year-old captain, going solo to pass his pilot’s test ‘in excellent fashion’ on 20 August 1913.

“After the outbreak of the war, Evans’s flying experience meant he found himself, somewhat reluctantly, serving with the fledgling Royal Flying Corps. He did not relish the conflict, saying he had ‘no thirst for war... only a desire to be there if it must take place’."

Read the full feature in this week’s Cambrian News, on sale now