Cross of St PiranIt was snowing, freezing cold and Bevan was to be found up on the roof of the church tower of St Wendron, getting things ready for a major roof refurbishment. Well he is a churchwarden, but he’s in his 80s!

When asked why he does so much, not just for Wendron but for the churches in Ashton and Breage in the past, he said it was because of his faith in God, instilled in him by his mother. “She used to say that we’ve been brought into this world by God and He looks after us, so we should strive to repay Him for His goodness to us, so I do.”

Bevan, who also takes part in Diocesan Synod, the Diocesan Board of Education and is a long serving Chair of the Kerrier Deanery Synod, is a man who loves his community and is grateful for all the blessings he has had in life. “During National Service, I went to Egypt because of the Suez crisis and I came home, safe and sound. Some of them didn’t. My father lost a leg in the First World War, but always did the best he could to provide for us and my mother worked hard to make ends meet. I’ve been blessed with my Isobel, children and a life that God has provided for. I like to think I am repaying Him for his provision, but I’m not one for sitting around and I really enjoy doing it!”

I like to think I am repaying Him for his provision, but I’m not one for sitting around and I really enjoy doing it!”

Bevan also said that just before she died, his mother asked that he would look after her church at Ashton. It’s a promise Bevan made that he has honoured tenfold.

A true community man, Bevan used to work for British Telecom and so knows every part of Cornwall by its telephone exchanges. Useful knowledge for the extensive voluntary work he has done through decades of support for the local football leagues, and the dog showing community. A highly-regarded judge in the world of Shetland Sheepdog and steward for gundogs, Bevan, when asked to judge or steward at an event that might be in a tucked away corner of the county, says, “If it has a telephone exchange, which it probably does, I’ll know where it is!”

It’s a big year for Bevan. Not only has he been nominated for the St PIran Cross, he also celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary with his beloved Isobel who, “Lives for the church as much as I do – I couldn’t do what I do without her,” and has been invited to meet the Queen. Bevan will be one of 92 men, plus 92 women, invited to have lunch at Windsor Castle on Maundy Thursday to be presented with Maundy money for services to the community. This flurry of honours is well deserved and is no doubt making his mother very proud.