Richard Eric John Evans was born in Birkenhead in Cheshire on 1 September 1973. He was the son of Mr and Mrs Evans (née Cockroft) of Rock Ferry, Birkenhead.

After leaving School he joined the Royal Navy and trained as a Weapons Engineering Mechanic. He then joined submarines and, in November 1992, was serving in HMS TURBULENT.

He died, presumed drowned, after falling overboard from TURBULENT three miles off Deerfield Beach when the submarine was 15 miles from Port Everglades, Florida. An air-sea rescue search was called off after a day.  Apparently the search was complicated by the Gulf Stream’s rapid northward flow.

He is commemorated on the Armed Forces Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas, Staffordshire.