A day in the land of King Richard III

News of King Richard III continues to dominate in the city of Leicester. Plans are well underway for his reburial in the Cathedral next Spring, and his statue, which used to be in Castle Gardens, has been moved, cleaned and re situated between the Cathedral and the brand spanking new King Richard III centre which officially opens today.

 





On Tuesday though there was a press preview day, and at 8.55 am I was there live on air waiting to go in. Just before the stroke of 9am , I was invited in - the first journalist to enter the building.

 

 



The centre , which has cost £4.5 million , stands on the site of the mediaeval friary of the Grey Friars where the king's remains were buried over five hundred years ago. It's housed in the old Alderman Newton's School, which was then taken over by the Leicester Grammar School. It's a beautiful Victorian Gothic building which has been transformed.

So, I went in and during the morning, walked and talked my way through the centre in a thirty minute outside broadcast .

21st century technology is used to tell  the story of  our  mediaeval King's life and times in the War of the Roses.....

And the throne looked so inviting, I just had to sit on it for a while.....

Animations and displays tell the story about the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, where Richard became the last King of England to be killed in battle.



On the first floor, there's the incredible story of the most exciting archaeological find in recent years, which used modern science and technology to identify the bones of Richard III. It seemed surreal to be walking through the exhibits and photographs of the dig, which I visited  so recently here on display.

I interviewed Caroline Wilkinson from the University of Dundee who had come down from Scotland to visit the centre..she recreated the incredibly detailed facial reconstruction of Richard from his skeleton, which looks so remarkably like portraits of Richard.

Here she is on the left with Sarah Levitt, Head of Leicester Arts and Museums.



 

And one thing, I felt compelled to do, was take a selfie with Richard III himself.

 

 

 

I also interviewed Richard Buckley , Director of the University of Leicester's Archeological Services who led the search for Richard. He really is the most modest and self deprecating of men and always a pleasure to talk to. 

And on display was an amazing 3D replica of the bones of Richard III , created by Loughbrough University.
















Dr Turi King was also there for the preview....she's the University of Leicester geneticist who  with her background both in archaeology and genetics, was approached in the very early stages of the dig. She was asked if the skeletal remains of a “good candidate” to be Richard III were to be found, would she be interested in overseeing the DNA analysis? Her answer was yes, and the rest is history!

And there was a fascinating computer generated animation which was developed by Steffan Davies and Jonathan Gration from de Montfort University. which shows a digital reconstruction of Grey Friars Church, where Richard was buried and his remains discovered, and the now-lost original tomb, which marked the grave.

 

Meanwhile, back on the ground floor , is the actual site where Richard was found. Instead of being outside  in the elements,  an indoor space has been created to protect the site and where visitors can sit in quiet contemplation

 

 

 





 

 

The architect who's done so well to create this centre yet sympathetically restore the Victorian building is Paul East

 

 

 

At the end of the tour, there's a chance to buy all things Richardian. Books about him, pens, mugs, you name it, it's there and all ready to buy.

But outside ,workmen were still building a wall at the back of the centre - I do hope they finished it before today!

 So, by now the new King Richard III Centre will be open and filled with hundreds of  people. It's well worth a visit, and as I left the centre on Tuesday, I was so sorry that my American Aunt Avril and cousin Melinda were still in Leicester to see it for themselves. they were here  only a few weeks ago., and would have loved it. 

D Day

Today is the 70th anniversary of D Day, a turning point in World War  II, where the bravery of the Allied troops changed the course of the war, and of history. A day when 4,087 Allied soldiers died.

It's a very emotional day for those former soldiers who are fit enough to return to Normandy, to see their fellow men, to accept the gratitude of so many, for what surely must be the last time.

It's an emotional day too for the families whose loved ones weren't able to return, and for those who survived as they see their relatives  struggle with their memories.

Over the last few years I've been very privileged to meet some of our D Day heroes, and what will I take away with me from meeting them is their sheer bravery, and the way that D Day and their wartime experiences are never far from their minds.

On Wednesday I was in North West Leicestershire to meet Roy Howe who was 19 on D Day.

He was a torpedo man who had already endured months working on the Russian convoy ships. On the morning of 6th June, he was relaying messages from shore to ship, but in the afternoon, he had a different job. He had to bring the wounded and dying back to his ship, the Serepice.




Roy and others like him saw things that no teenagers should see. And he still sees those dying and wounded in his dreams, even when he's awake. His tears run down his cheeks as he speaks, and as he then recounts the horrors of the Russian convoys, the tears fall faster and all I can do is hold the microphone and try not to sniffle and cry too.

 And I remember a good number of years ago interviewing the Right Reverend Maurice Wood, a former Bishop of Norwich. He was living in  a "home for decaying clergyman" as he termed it when I first met him. I was there to talk to him about something completely different, but as I was about to leave, I saw a huge leather bound book.

 "That's my prayer book " he said ...and as he opened the book and leafed carefully through the hundreds of pages, I saw it was no ordinary prayer book. On each page there was a list of names...people who he prayed for each day with dates alongside. I saw the dates on the earlier pages....June 1944. It was then he told me he was a marine commando chaplain and landed with his men on D Day and one of his closest friends was killed as soon as landing on the beach. his name is in that book, as  well as hundreds of others  killed during the landings .

Maurice died back in 2007 at the age of 90, but I will never forget him.

And that's the whole point of today...not to forget the sacrifices that were made seventy years ago. To think about the men and women who were placed in impossible situations, who did their best fighting for a cause. To say thank you....to salute their heroism, and remember not just the ones who lay in row upon row in those immaculate French cemeteries, but the ones who came back.. the ones who can still, to this day, never forget what happened.

If you'd like to listen to Roy Howe, and two others...Ken West and Eric Newby talk about their memories...then click here...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p020gm55

 

 

 

Days of World War1

In October I began working on a very special project ...a very ambitious BBC project called World War 1 At Home. A journalist from each BBC local radio station was selected to find stories which reflected the huge impact that the war had on places and people in local communities across the country.

I wrote about the beginning of my journey to find some of those stories in Leicestershire and Rutland those stories here ...

http://thinkingofthedays.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/days-spent-back-in-world-war-1.html

Now, only a few months later, tomorrow sees the launch of the first batch of what will be over a thousand stories from across the country both on local radio and online.

Nearly thirty of those will be mine. Stories gleaned from archives, from meeting people with a fascinating story to tell and from passing places and thinking, "I wonder what happened here during the war?"

It's been a very emotional few months. I've been genuinely in awe about how a whole generation coped with four years of war, the devastating loss of so many of their young men, and the way their communities changed.





I've fallen for characters whose actions and words will stay with me forever and I've been amazed at what went on in everyday places I often pass. I also used up packets and packets of tissues as I heard about heroic deeds and tragic tales, finding myself crying at odd times in different places as I've spoken to descendants of those who took part in World War 1. I was also terrified as one of those descendants opened an old tin trunk full of World War 1 memorabilia and handed me two grenades - one English and one German.



It's also been a pleasure to meet local  historians who have helped me ensure that these stories are  kept alive for future generations.




It's such a privilege to bring stories like this on air, and I do hope you listen and like them.

My stories will be going out every day in the coming week in mid morning with Jim Davis at 11.10am and will be repeated at 4.10pm every afternoon with Ben Jackson. On 104.9 FM or you can listen online at www.bbc.co.uk/leicester.

I'd love you to listen....and the next batch of stories will be broadcast in the week beginning 7th April.

 

Back in the land of Richard III

Remember this scene?

Wednesday 12th September 2012...the scene in the Guildhall in Leicester as the archaeology team from the University of Leicester announced the discovery of a skeleton at the Greyfriars dig.

I can still oh so vividly recall the delicious tingle as I heard the evidence so far about their find.

You can see the back of my head in shot on the left hand side ...it looks as if the TV camera is resting on my shoulder....

Well, since then , millions of words have been written about the discovery of Richard III in newspapers and journals across the world, but I'm pleased to say that the two leading archaeologists involved have now written a book about the startling series of events before and after the discovery.

Their book "Richard III, the King under the Car Park" was launched two weeks ago yesterday at the University of Leicester, and books were literally being grabbed off the tables , money being thrown at the university bookshop sales and assistants, and the authors must have been getting cramp from all the copies they were signing.

One of the authors is the unassuming Mathew Morris, I remember meeting him first thing in the morning at the dig  the day the first announcement was made. I was with the radio car doing live broadcasts, he was quietly checking the site...and there was a security guard. Just the three of us...and it really was the calm before the storm...

 

It was great to see Mathew last Friday, enjoying the drinks and the canapés, yet finding time to talk to everyone.

 

 

And of course Richard Buckley was there too...the project director and lead archaeologist for the Greyfriars project, as well as being the co director of the University of Leicester Archaeological Services team. I can't remember how many times I've interviewed Richard, yet he always finds something fresh and interesting to say and he still hasn't lost a  genuine sense of wonder about the whole discovery.

 

 

And here's the book!

 

What I like about this is the way both Mathew and Richard have managed to straddle the difficulty of producing a book which satisfies their peers and yet makes this archaeological find so accessible to everyone. At a very affordable price and published by the University of Leicester, it's the first to tell the story from those who actually found the King, sharing  what happened at the dig, the mood there, and putting the find into context with mediaeval Leicester.

Luckily I managed to fight off others and buy some copies from a quickly dwindling pile on the night and get them signed.

Meanwhile in other Richard III news, the University of Leicester has received royal recognition for the excellence of the work on the discovery of the King, with the award of the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education. 

 

And there's more good news....yesterday,  the University of Leicester was also awarded "Research Project of the Year" at this year's Times Higher Education Awards for it's work on the discovery of Richard III.

 

 

But, and here's a big but, everything is not hunky dory in Richard III land here in Leicester. The legal battle over where his remains should be buried was adjourned at the High Court on Wednesday.

It's all getting very complicated. A judicial review will now judge whether the procedure which led to his bones being excavated here in the city was done correctly .

Before the dig even began, a licence to carry out the dig, issued by the Ministry of Justice, gave the authority to decide where to rebury the king to the university.

The latest hoo ha  still involves the Plantaganet Alliance...whose members want Richard buried in York Minister, and who are challenging the Justice Secretary's decision not to consult further before granting a licence to the University of Leicester to excavate the King's remains.

 They were given permission to bring  judicial review proceedings against both the Justice Secretary and the University of Leicester a while back by a High Court judge.....but now an adjournment has been declared so that the Leicester City Council can play a role too in the decision regarding what happens to the remains. (It was in their car park that the King was found.)

Well, I did warn you it was getting very complicated and long winded and it looks as if this is one story which just keeps running.

Meanwhile, this song has been running through my head as I've been writing this.....Finders Keepers by the Chairman of the Board from 1973 ....

And as far as I and thousands of other people, in this city and beyond, are concerned, Richard was found here, and should be kept here....

 

 

 

 

days spent back in World War 1

You'll have to forgive me, I've been a little emotional since the beginning of October.

I'm spending most of my waking hours in the early twentieth century working on the biggest project that the BBC will broadcast to mark the centenary of the First World War next year.

It's a special  project across all local radio Stations called World War One at Home.
My job is to search out local stories which will surprise, show the huge impact World War I had on us here at home, and remember those who gave their lives between 1914 and 1918.

It's fascinating work , and I'm coming across interesting, heart warming, desperately sad, and riveting stories which will be broadcast next year. Those stories just won't appear on local radio though, they'll be across the BBC website too, and they will be archived for posterity at the Imperial War Museum.

For someone who's loves history as much as I do, this is a dream project to be working on, to make sure that what happened won't be forgotten by today's generations and those in the future.

Last week, I went to Belgium, to visit the area around Ypres, or Ieper as it's also called.  The name became synonymous with destruction, trench warfare, and the slaughter of half a million soldiers in the battlefields nearby during the four years of the war.

The Flanders Field Museum in Ypres...

Ypres was destroyed by German troops during the war,with a hardly a building left standing. But it was rebuilt, recreating the layout of streets and the buildings.

The sacrifice that so many British and Commonwealth soldiers made there is remembered every night at the Menin Gate Memorial at a very special ceremony which takes place at 8pm sharp. The ceremony, and the names of 58,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers commemorate those who died but whose bodies were never found.

 

 

 

 

Wreathes and crosses are left there every day by visitors, well wishers, and families of the dead

 

 

And as my eyes scanned the rows and rows of names, and where they came from, my heart grew heavier and heavier, my throat grew tight , at one stage I felt as if I couldn't breathe as I realised the scale of the slaughter around here.

 

 

 Of course it's difficult to see each name, but in each pillar, there's a niche

 

 

 

where there are books listing the names of everyone commemorated . 



 

 

 

Traffic is usually streaming under the Menin Gate, but at 7.45pm, it is halted, and the crowds stand ready

 The Last Post is played by men from the town's fire brigade, wreaths are laid, and then everyone moves quietly away at the end of the simple fifteen to twenty minute ceremony, all moved by the

experience. 

 

The traffic begins to flow again under the Menin Gate, and Ypres come back to life once more.

 



 

 

 

 

 

There's no track today, but here's the link to a feature I made about the ceremony and the people I met there..... please listen....

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01jwlgc

The day of the Battle of Bosworth

What a week for true Ricardians and those interested in the times of the Wars of the Roses.

While a modern day battle is being fought over where the body of Richard III should lie, tomorrow  is the 528th anniversary of the Battle of Bosworth...the battle in which the King was killed and the course of British history was changed forever more.

It was on  Thursday 22 August 1485 that Richard was killed here in Leicestershire, near the village of Sutton Cheyney. He'd ridden out from Leicester the day before with around 12,000 men with the intention of cutting Henry Tudor off from his march towards London.

But this wasn't just another battle...it was the last fought by a King who died in battle and Bosworth is a site of national historic significance, being the location of one of the three most important battles fought on British soil.

And every year, this event is remembered and re enacted by hundreds of men and women who go back and live life in the fifteenth century at the battlefield, and last weekend I joined over five thousand other spectators to watch them.

The re enactors got ready for battle

They lined up waiting for battle, but unlike those men who fought in 1485, they knew they would live to fight another day........

And as the cannons boomed in the distance they watched....



Richard's army began to march 

As did Henry Tudor's men ...

King Richard waited....

As battle began

Until the end...when Richard was killed, his body slung over his horse for the ride back to Leicester, as Henry Tudor celebrated...

But the weekend at Bosworth wasn't just about the battle. It recreated the music and the times of the fifteenth century England, with authentic music

I met Paul Parker, a historical interpreter who was there in the guise of  Captain Mortimer...who was a barber surgeon...and with relish he told me the gory, bloody stories of injury and death on the battlefields of the Wars of the Roses

At battle camp, wood had to be chopped, fires lit ...

Some re enactors are highly skilled ...Stephen Pole is a leathstitch, working in leather and canvas. He makes authentic hand sewn leather bags and purses for other reanactors.During war, he would have been levied by the army, and would have had to leave his shop and go to battle as a camp follower, repairing leather harnesses on the horses, mending tents and soldier's footwear.

He's pictured below with with Ann Laken, who in this century is a gardener, but as a re enactor...she's a master fletcher, handcrafting authentic fifteenth century arrows.

For some , it's never too early to be immersed in the world of the Wars of the Roses....

Also present was someone whose career has taken a different turn because of Richard III...and that's artist Graham Turner. Formerly a motor sport artist, he's now carved out a career as a painter of mediaeval history. He's even become a jouster , wearing a complete suit of replica 15th century armour!

Here's his painting "Challenge in the Mist" ..with Richard at the Battle of Barnet in 1471.

But take a look at this painting, which was unveiled at Bosworth a couple of months ago. It's of Richard, on the field of battle on 22 August 1485. The detail, the colour is all so impressive...I adore it...

So all in all, a wonderful weekend for people of all ages, to not only learn more about Richard III, from experts from the University of Leicester who were pivotal in the discovery of Richard, and from experts such as Dr Phil Stone , Chairman of the Richard III Society ,

and also to become immersed in the world of the Wars of the Roses, both on and off the battlefield.....