on a rugby trip to London in 1935. He was taken immediately to The Odd Spot nightclub in London's West End, from where he was referred to Arthur Fagg, conductor of the London Choral Society, who knew Dawson Freer, a singing teacher at the Royal College of Music. One week later, Evans became a pupil of Freer's – who began by telling him that he sang too loudly. These early lessons helped Evans to establish himself as a professional singer, but he felt that his voice and vocal technique improved immeasurably when, later in his career, the Royal Opera arranged for him to continue his studies – this time with the Italian maestro Luigi Ricci in Rome. For 18 months, Evans studied with Dawson Freer, using up his legacy from his father – who had died in 1927 – to support himself and pay the six guineas for every ten singing lessons. Running out of funds, Evans took on a milk round in Camberwell – for the Royal Arsenal Co-Operative – getting up at five o'clock each morning and, eventually, progressed to the round in Coldharbour Lane in Brixton. Some 18 months after meeting Freer, Edgar gave his first audition. As a result Lilian Baylis offered him a contract to sing as a chorister, under the direction of chorus master Geoffrey Corbett, with the Sadler's Wells Opera Company in 1937 on a salary of £3 a week – the same wage he was getting as a milkman. World War II From September 1939 to June 1942 he was a member of the Police Reserve – again on wages of £3 a week – having been turned down for service in the armed forces – he was dogged by kidney problems throughout his life. Throughout the war, he was singing in shows for the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (CEMA) and ENSA, entertaining the troops, under the direction of Walter Legge and performing with artists including Maggie Teyte, Joyce Grenfell and many others. After 18 months, he left the police to concentrate on performing, and, in all, he sang in over 500 concerts during the war. In the latter years of the war and when hostilities ceased, Edgar toured the main theatres in the UK and Europe, singing with the 'Anglo-Russian Merry Go Round Company' performing in a number of cities, including Paris. Post-war career For a