Evan O C Howells and Florence Howells nee Taylor
Also commemorated: Evan Llewellyn Howells
Evan Owen Charles Howells was born on 4 August 1874 in Coventry, the son of John and Susannah. John was a miller and the family lived in Far Gosford Street, Coventry. Evan began work as a carpenter and joiner but soon built up a large business as a builder and contractor. On 31 October 1898 he married Florence Taylor at All Saints Church, Coventry, and they went on to have a son, Evan Llewellyn, and a daughter, Florence Gwendoline. They lived first in Stoke, naming their house Haynstone, and when they later built a substantial family property on the Kenilworth Road, this too was called Haynstone. Much of Evan's building contract work was in Birmingham, and he became a prominent Coventry city councillor. He died on 3 May 1956 and was buried on 7 May.
Florence Taylor was the elder daughter of George and Eliza Taylor, of East Street, Coventry. She was born in 1874 and died more than eight years before her husband, on 15 November 1947. The headstone proclaims that she was "for 49 years the devoted wife of Evan O.C. Howells".
Evan Llewellyn Howells was born on 31 July 1899, the only son of Evan and Florence Howells of "Haynstone", Stoke Park, Coventry. He attended King Henry VIII School, Coventry between 1907 and 1914, after which he became a builder's pupil, working for his father.
Enlisting in the Royal Flying Corps in January 1917, he was passed fit as a pilot on 15 January 1918 and was gazetted as Second Lieutenant on 7 August. He joined the 23rd Squadron in France on 30 September 1918. By October 1918 23rd Squadron were flying Sopwith Dolphins. On 23 October, in poor weather conditions his machine was involved in a collision at 5,000 feet, probably with an enemy aircraft, and he was seen to spin to the ground.
Evan Llewellyn Howells is buried at Ovillers New Communal Cemetery near Cambrai. He was 19 years old. He had become engaged to be married shortly before his untimely death.