On 24th November 2022, Regimental Headquarters Welsh Guards was delighted to be able to arrange the presentation of The Major General Commanding The Household Division Certificate for Meritorious Service to Mr Stan Evans, the Curator of the Welsh Guards Collection in Oswestry in recognition of his outstanding contribution over many years.
The citation for the award reads:
Mr Stan Evans, who served in the Welsh Guards from 1960 to 1968, is currently and has been for many years, the Curator of the Welsh Guards Collection at Park Hall Farm, Oswestry. The Collection was established at Park Hall in 2001 although Stan started to build the collection as far back as 1995.
The Collection is now home to more than 4,000 Welsh Guards artefacts and over 2,500 photographs. Thanks to Mr Evans, the Collection was given full accreditation as a military Museum by the Army Museums Ogilvy Trust in 2014.
The Collection is visited by around 20,000 people every year, young and old. It is a unique collection preserving, in one place, the Regiment’s heritage.
Aside from the Collection, Mr Evans has visited numerous schools in Shropshire and elsewhere giving presentations on the Welsh Guards using the Collection’s artefacts to bring it to life. He has also, over the years, held special exhibitions in Wales such as in Cardiff Castle to celebrate the Regiment’s Centenary in 2015.
Along with a very small group, Mr Evans has run the Collection, mounted special exhibitions and visited schools entirely on a voluntary basis for over thirty years now. He should be recognised for his tireless energy, enthusiasm, and dedication in keeping our Regimental history alive, and indirectly that of the Household Division as well. It is he that is entirely responsible for building the Collection to what it is today and is a shining example of what can be achieved by an individual for the benefit of many.
Having left the Regiment, he has continued to devote his life literally to it through the Collection and all on a voluntary basis. For what he has achieved, and the considerable benefits he has brought to so many, Mr Evans is deserving of formal recognition from the Major General.
Stan had travelled to London accompanied by 4 of the hard working volunteers; Alan Simcox, Allan Rogers, David Martin and Simon Cole and in further grateful recognition for all that Stan has done and continues to do for the Regiment, he was presented with a silver statuette on behalf of the Regiment by the Regimental Adjutant Colonel Tom Bonas.
