Conwy grave Owen Evans
Owen Evans (d.1915)
Owen Evans was a photographer and stationer, of Paris House, High Street, Conwy. He died on Conwy Mountain while seeking a new viewpoint for a landscape photo.
In 1903 two of his photos were chosen – from thousands of entries – for an exhibition by the Imperial Dry Plate Company of London. The photos depicted Gwydyr Castle, near Llanrwst, and boats on the river Conwy.
He was involved in many local activities including the Ratepayers’ Association and Carmel chapel, where he led the choir and taught children to sing, using the sol-fa method, at Sunday school.
On 17 September 1915, he photographed a property called Coed-y-Ffridd. This was a commission by James Stott, owner of the Oakwood Park Hotel, which faced Conwy Mountain. Having finished the job, Owen left most of his heavy equipment at the property and walked up the mountain to find a new viewpoint for a photo of the estuary and Deganwy.
His wife Margaret raised the alarm as dusk fell. Police, soldiers from the army camp at the Morfa and members of the public searched the mountain for hours. Owen’s body was discovered near the disused quarry after 11pm. It was in such a natural pose that he seemed to have died while having a rest. The cause of death was the heart illness he’d suffered for some time, according to a doctor.
He was buried with his son Robert Goronwy Owen, who had died aged 7 in 1907. He left two sons and three daughters. Margaret died in 1927 and is also buried here.