The 74-year-old died suddenly on 9 July, leaving behind his wife of 51 years, Andrew, son Richard, daughters Katryn and Olivia and four grandchildren.
Born in Porthcawl on 31 January 1949, Andrews chose to pursue an electrical apprenticeship at Llanwern Steel Works before following his father into a career in engineering. Aged 30, he set-up his own business
In 1979, aged 30, following a short but illustrious period working for others, Roger set-up his own business ASA Crane & Hoist Ltd, selling industrial cranes across the whole of the UK.
His first venture into sculpting came in 1992, when he was invited to sculpt Llantwit Major’s medieval town hall by a local community. He never looked back
He sculpted the aircraft to commemorate the war effort of the Shetland Isles in WW2, produced a replica of St Illtyd’s Church in Llantwit Major and then followed with a number of ‘Local Landmarks’ such Castell Coch, the Old Arcade pub in Cardiff, the former national stadium and home of Welsh Rugby, the former home of Cardiff City, Ninian Park, and a range of the St Fagan’s Folk Museum exhibits.
In his later life Andrews won a number of prestigious commissions and invitations to sculpt life-size characters. In 2007, he created the statues of two of the youngest VC holders from World War One: Thomas Young and Richard Annad.
They stand on parade in their native South Tyneside. His iconic work depicting Sir Tasker Watkins followed, as did the stature of the 1927 FA Cup winning captain Fred Keenor which stands at the entrance to Cardiff City Stadium.
Andrews’ tribute to Sir Tasker has been seen by millions of people at the home of Welsh rugby since it was unveiled by his daughter, Lady Mair Griffith-Williams, on 15 November 2009.
The statue of Sir Tasker Watkins at the gateway to Principality Stadium
The Welsh Assembly Government and Cardiff council both contributed towards the £100,000 statue in honour of Sir Tasker, who died aged 88 in September 2007.
Sir Tasker won his VC in WW2 at the age of 25 in 1944 and went on to become deputy lord chief justice of England and Wales. He was president of the WRU from 1993 to 2004.
Lady Griffith-Williams said her father would have been “astonished” by both the statue and the ceremony that accompanied its opening. As far as Andrews was concerned it was “the one sculpture I passionately wanted to create”.
The 9ft (2.7m) bronze sculpture takes pride of place on the walkway leading into the Principality Stadium. Andrews was forever proud of that particular piece of work.
“It was by far the most thrilling project I have ever been involved in. If I never completed another work, I am certain this is the one sculpture I passionately wanted to create,” he said at the time of the unveiling.
“In order to achieve a true likeness of the man I have spoken to many of his friends and family because I wanted to capture his character as well as his physical likeness.”
The WRU offers sincere condolences to the wife, family and friends of Roger Andrews and thanks him for his wonderful contribution in honouring Sir Tasker Watkins.
