Colin Edwards RIP

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Those of a certain age will mourn the loss of one of Rhuthun/Ruthin’s most affable characters. Colin Edwards died this week, aged 82 or 83, informed sources say. 

Colin was the local go-to guy when it came to royal matters. The media would search him out for comment on every royal occasion. He appeared in the local, regional and even national press as well as on the telly. In fact, were he to be in Gen Z, there is little doubt that Colin would probably be a social media ‘influencer’. 

From his book, the queen ‘will need no reminder about the identity of the man in the union jack hat’

To say he was an ardent royalist was an understatement. Born during the war, he reflected a very different era, one generally in Wales when the royal family was more respected. His parents were staunch royalists. Post-war sentiment was much more positive in Rhuthun towards ‘king and country’. Things move on and to an extent they had left Colin behind. He could never understand the royals’ growing unpopularity in Wales. 

I have previously stated that I was surprised at myself for buying a book on the royal family. That was Colin’s book, of course, duly signed: you couldn’t stop him inscribing them. How many of us will leave a legacy such as Colin’s? How many will leave behind something tangible, something other than an ephemeral Facebook page?

That he managed to capture so many quality images on a seemingly ‘ordinary’ camera is quite amazing. Whatever your view of his subject matter, his photographic record was clear and unique. He was particularity fond of the late queen mother, the late queen and the late Diana Spencer. His photos had been on display locally for key royal celebrations. Not just here, even in London.

Colin was brought up locally. He attended Llanfwrog church all his Rhuthun life. Something else he never came to terms with was the effective closure of the church building. After a short spell with (pre-Clwyd) Denbighshire county council in what was the county surveyor’s (highways) department at The Old Gaol (remember that?) he left to work and live in Cheshire. It was upon his relatively early retirement from local government that he moved back to Rhuthun. He was pleased to have returned, felt comfortable here and enjoyed his life in town, including regular Friday fish suppers at Wetherspoon’s. He travelled widely regardless of his royal ‘spotting’, including frequently to Scotland and abroad. 

He will be remembered for his good nature. As he will for his zipping off and even camping overnight to get some unobscured view of the royal party on walkabout. That was the subject of his book, ‘A Personal Portrait of the Royal Family’ . It seems he was well known to the royals themselves.