Award Military Cross 198697 Captain Leslie James EVANS, 5 Army Film & Photo Section (PR)

Award Military Cross Captain Leslie James Evans (198697) No. 5 Army Film & Photo Section (PR)

WO 373/53/585

IWM H 41589 ARMY FILM AND PHOTOGRAPHIC OFFICER AWARDED MILITARY CROSS (27th March 1945)

Captain Leslie J. Evans, of No.5 Army Film & Photographic Section, has been awarded the Military Cross. He landed on "D"-Day with 1st S.S. Brigade, where his bearing and example were commented on by senior Commando officers. He and his sub-section were largely responsible for the fine cine and still pictures of the Normandy battles which resulted in some of the best photographic publicity of the British Army. His courage and devotion to duty at this time earned him the Military Cross. Captain Evans was born at Elstree, Herts and before the war, was in the production office of Elstree and Denham Studios. He joined the Royal Artillery early in the war and was posted to the Army Film and Photographic Unit in September, 1942. He went with the Airborne Forces on their recent operation East of the Rhine, and landed by glider.

 

Hi there, how are you able to follow Captain Lesilie's movements thought out the war? Does the no.5 Army file unit have a war diary noting their locations?

 

I am trying to find more information on my grandfather Leslie J Evans, pictured here. If anyone knows where I can find any more information I would be most grateful

 

Welcome to the forum a good start is to apply for his service records link here explains everything you need to do
Get a copy of military records of service
Apply online
When you apply for a British Army record, the MOD will check if they hold it. If they have it, they’ll send it to you. If they do not, you’ll be told to check The National Archives.

 

Hi,

There's no lack of information out there on your grandfather. He gets mentioned in the McGlade book. Lots of his pics are viewable online at the IWM, some of which are also mis-attributed.

IWM Search - Evans, Leslie J.

A few things I have:


Regards ...

 

James,

Welcome aboard. As I understand the position your grandfather being an officer the MoD have so retained his Service Record.

We always recommend applying for the subject's full service record. Yes, it may take a year to arrive - either from the MoD or National Archives (TNA). It is not available online and is the definitive record. There is nothing you can do about the wait. The records were never intended to be read today. See: Get a copy of military records of service I did check TNA and his file is not shown.

Apply soon, as on 2/2/2026 the price goes up to £40.

There is an old thread about the units which should help and Post 24 refers to his unit's War Diaries. See: Army Film & Photo Section (PR)

The forum's simple search option (tor right) when searched with AFPU found nearly 200 mentions. An online search with "5 AFPU" site:ww2talk.com id'd approx. 100 threads for the unit.

An online search with: "Leslie Evans" site:ww2talk.com id'd a few threads here.

A few War Diaries have been digitised, so you can check their status with TNA via: Discovery | The National Archives

Two members provide a copying service, at a lower cost than the TNA. They are Drew5233 and Gary Tankard.

Good luck.

 

this is great, many thanks for your response, it is much appreciated.

 

James,

This is very likely your grandfather from the 5 AFPU group photo.



Regards ...

 

that is amazing, thank you so much

 

James,

There were at least two of your grandfather's photos we analysed on the Forum. The goal of which was primarily to establish location or identities. I made summary PDFs on the group research which can be downloaded at links below.

D-Day Photo - 7 Para & Commandos.pdf

9 Para - Ecarde Crossroads.pdf

Unfortunately there is not much there on Captain Evans personally or his many other D-Day photos, but it may give you an idea how important his camera work was.

Regards ...

 

thanks so much, all of your help on this thread has been great. I have managed to find a copy of the book by Mcglade and looking forward to flicking through that

 

Hello Cee, hello James,

James, it's Geo from FB.

An other pict of your grandfather

 

perhaps here too