He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (second only to the Victoria Cross for officers), Mentioned in Despatches, and was one of only 14 members of the New Zealand Army to receive the French Legion of Honour decoration during the war.

Drawn from Mounted Rifles Reinforcements, the New Zealand Cyclist Corps was established under Evans in April 1916, as mobile infantry for patrolling and exploiting breaks in the enemy line.

As part of Godley's Corps Troops, the unit was separate from the New Zealand Division but, due to the static nature of warfare on the Western Front, were often used for track-building or cable-laying.

[2] After being rushed into the line to counter the German Spring Offensive in March 1918, Evans' Battalion moved South with XXII Corps and was attached to the French 5th Army for operations on the Marne.

On 23 July 1918, Evans led the Cyclists in an attack on the French village of Marfaux which, after losing nearly a third of their unit killed or wounded, they managed to wrest from the Germans.