Tributes to Clee Hill legion stalwart
Tributes have been paid to a World War Two veteran who kept a rural Royal British Legion branch going over the years – for some time, almost single handedly.
Alec Evans, president of Clee Hill and District Royal British Legion, has died aged 96 at Four Rivers Nursing Home in nearby Ludlow.
Fay Vass, secretary of Clee Hill RBL, said: "For many years Alec Evans was Clee Hill and District British Legion, holding pretty much every post within the branch, at one point carrying out every role there is to make sure the branch kept going.
"Many will remember him upright and smart carrying our standard at events and funerals for many years, right up into his 80s.
"In later years, he became our much respected and loved president, a figurehead for all that we, and the Royal British Legion as a whole, stands for – pride, honour, compassion, and that famous stiff upper lip for which we Brit’s are so renowned.
"Alec was not one to complain, always so grateful to anyone who helped him in any way.
"He was treated like a celebrity when whenever we arrived in the Golden Cross for meetings – young, old and those in-between genuinely pleased to see him, the mark of a true gentleman who lived his life with kindness and a friendly word for everyone."
She said he and other veterans would often tell of their "amazing and terrifying" of their days in the forces.
"I often marvel that these men, when they were still in their teens, were plucked from the safety of our little village and despatched all over the world, never knowing if they would see home again.
"Alec was posted all the way to the deserts of Egypt, a young Clee Hill ‘mon’ serving under the famous ‘Monty’ at El Alamein.
"When he served in Sicily he told me they used to sleep in the open in vineyards and when they woke there would be frogs jumping all over them.
"Alec also was in Normandy for the D-Day beach landings. He recalled them with unease, saying that the film Saving Private Ryan had depicted the scenes he saw well.
"Us younger folk can only try to imagine how this kind of horror would affect a young man.
"All these characters have passed away now and with them goes a wealth of memories and experiences.
"I am honoured to have been given a tiny insight into their lives and to have shared time with them all.
"Our branch, village and country is worse off for their passing. May they all rest in peace – we will remember them," she said.
Mr Evans has been buried at St Paul's Church, Knowbury.
