"Do I need the 1;?"

++ Good question.

I would always include it. If you think other maintainers may not understand its importance, add a comment like:

eval {
    ...;
    1; # IMPORTANT! Do not remove. See: https://www.perlmonks.org/?nod
+e_id=11143055
} or do {
    ...;
};
[download]

Even in situations when the last statement in the eval block evaluates to 1, or some other TRUE value, I would include it:

eval {
    ...;
    $x = 1;
    1;
} ...;
[download]

Otherwise, if someone removes the '$x = 1;' line, or changes the value, but does not know, or forgets, to add the '1;' statement, the 'eval {...} or do {...};' construct may be broken.