Together with my mother, Margaret, he founded Rogers Jones & Company in 1992, leaving behind an incredible legacy of professional dedication, warmth, and good humour. When I look back on his sixty-year career, I am filled with immense pride for what he accomplished from the ground up, and the deep respect he earned across Wales and beyond.
Originally from Llandudno Junction, Dad spent twenty-seven years honing his immense knowledge of antiques at Morgan Evans in Gaerwen. His very first auction took place way back in 1962 at the Drill Hall in Menai Bridge, marking the beginning of a lifelong passion. In 1992, Mum and Dad made a massive leap of faith. They sold our family home in Star, Anglesey, and put everything they had into a new saleroom in Colwyn Bay town centre. In those early days, they lived in the flat directly above the saleroom, which also served as their office space. Through sheer hard work and dedication, the business gained massive momentum, eventually expanding to Cardiff in 2012 and Carmarthen in 2019, cementing its status as the premier fine art and antiques auction house in Wales.
Dad loved the unique theatre of the saleroom, but he rejected flashy gimmicks or corporate gestures. He brought a natural, unpretentious camaraderie to the rostrum, and buyers often remarked that his consistent, calm, and witty style immediately settled their auction nerves. As a proud Welshman and a fluent Welsh speaker, he possessed a deep affinity for local bidders. He was famous for doing his calls, knowing every backroad and small community in North Wales. While he always kept a flawless professional tone, he always made room for dry humour, often teasing nervous sellers by asking if they had already booked a cruise based on their expectations.
His work ethic was legendary, and he remained dedicated to his craft until the very end of his life. His final valuation appointment was a probate assessment in Caernarfon on the fifth of December 2022, which he completed when he was already very weak, with my mother right by his side. When we later listened to his final dictated recording, we found it to be a completely lucid, thorough, and professional assessment. He passed away peacefully just a week later, on the twelfth of December 2022, at the age of eighty.
Beyond the gavel, Dad shared his immense expertise via English and Welsh language radio and television programs over the decades, and in 2013, he published his memoirs to raise money for charity. He was also an avid sportsman who excelled at squash, bowls, and golf as a longtime member of Conwy Golf Club. He is remembered in the industry not just as an expert who could discover a rare international treasure in a pile of household goods, but primarily as a true gentleman who treated everyone with absolute kindness and fairness. He left a profound mark on the auction world, and an even greater one on the family who loved him
