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Rachel 'Rae' Evans (born 6 September 1980 in Congleton, Cheshire, England) is the editor of Vintage Life Magazine, a British publication focusing on vintage fashion and lifestyle from the 1920s to the 1970s. She is also well known as a leading historical re-enactor, live stream presenter, photographer and entrepreneur.

Personal life

Evans was born in Congleton, Cheshire. From a young age she was involved in historical re-enactments and developed a keen interest in military history. She obtained an honours degree in Business and Information Systems and Modern Languages.

Evans' love of history continued and during her teens, she began to develop an interest in the American Civil War and is now known in the scene for her historical accurate impressions and photographic images. Evans attended the Gettysburg 150th anniversary re-enactment in 2013, and was filmed for the BBC ^[1]

She lives in Cheshire, England.

Heart Surgery

At the age of five, Evans was diagnosed with Aortic Stenosis, a narrowing of the heart's aortic valve. At the age of 20, she became extremely ill with Endocarditis (a rare and potentially fatal type of heart infection) and after a long period of hospitalisation, she underwent complicated life-saving heart surgery to replace the faulty heart valve. In 2011, Evans underwent a second major open heart surgery to replace the tired valve.

Career

After university, Evans worked as an historical interpreter and also took up a position of Development Manager with Beaumont Publishing, working on a re-enactment magazine called Skirmish. The opportunity arose for Evans to purchase the publication in 2004 and she went on to set up her own publishing company, Dragoon Publishing Ltd. Evans relaunched Skirmish and it became the world's leading re-enactment title. She also created a number of other successful publications: Ghost Voices Magazine, Civil War Campaigner, Voices of Valour, Vintage Ink, Unique Bride and the highly successful international women's title Vintage Life Magazine.

Evans was the first female and youngest Trustee and Director of The Battlefields Trust – campaigning both locally and nationally to defend battlefields from inappropriate development or even destruction. She was also the Editor of the Trust's magazine – Battlefield. Evans also co-ordinated the social media for the No Casino Gettysburg, which helped gain a victory in the battlefield preservation campaign preventing the construction of a casino upon hallowed ground on the famous historical battlefield of Gettysburg, where President Abraham Lincoln also made his famous speech – The Gettysburg Address.

Evans spent time teaching English to French engineers while living in Grenoble, in the French Alps. She speaks French fluently.

Awards

Evans' determination and drive to make Vintage Life and Dragoon Publishing successful has not gone unnoticed. In March 2015, she collected the Network She Foundation Award for Business of the Year, and she was also shortlisted for Businesswoman of the Year at the same event.^[2] On April 1, 2015, Evans was shortlisted for the North West Young Professional 'Young Media and Marketing Professional' award.^[3]

Evans spoke alongside Caryn Franklin at the Clothes Show Live event at the Birmingham NEC. She speaks at a number of university and public events, most recently guest speaking at Manchester Metropolitan University in March 2015.

References