A plaque commemorating long-serving volunteer, Ewart Harse, was unveiled in his hometown of Tredegar last week, Friday 10th January.
Mr Harse was Officer Serving Brother for of The Order of St John and was considered by many to be longest serving volunteer at his division in Tredegar with 79 years’ service.
Mr Harse followed in his father, Percival’s, footsteps by volunteering and, at 11, went on to selflessly volunteer thousands of hours of his time to help his local community.
Mr Harse held many roles at our charity and went on to provide first aid support at some of the most notable events of the 20th Century including; the coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth II, where he was on duty at the gates of Buckingham Palace and the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill, where he was on duty alongside his father, Percival.
During his life, Mr Harse also served a three year term with the Royal Air Force Police.
The first two years formed part of his national service and his third saw him fulfilling the role of drum major for the RAF band.
It was during this time Mr Harse accompanied the Queen to Gibraltar. Mr Harse left the RAF when he met his then girlfriend, Blanche, who would go on to become his wife.
After leaving the RAF, he turned his attention to the Royal British Legion where he served as President in his hometown until his death in 2018, aged 90.
Photo cap: Left to right - Jim Skinner, Deighton Harse, Rosemary Lewis, David Harse, David Bowditch, Rhys Hamblin, Rhydian Birkinshaw
"Ewart was a pillar of the community and gave his life to St John. We hope the plaque serves as a fitting tribute to a wonderful man who is celebrated for his long service, kindness, compassion and humour of which he shared not just with his family and those closest to him, but the whole community.
We hope it serves as a reminder for future generations of St John Cymru Tredegar of his service to the town, his county and his country.
He will be sorely missed."
St John Cymru Tredegar Acting Member in Charge, Rhys Hamblin
“We are so unbelievably proud to be his children.
Dad was always there helping people and was the first one people would come to if there was something wrong. “He always used to say: ‘it’s not the ones you save you remember, it’s the ones you lose’ and we have always remembered this.
It was really touching to see the plaque and we want to take this time to thank everyone at St John Cymru Tredegar for their support.”Rose Lewis, daughter of Ewart and David, son of Ewart
The plaque was unveiled by volunteers and close friends of Mr Ewart, Rose and Ewart’s great-grandson, Deighton.
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