Richard iii

20/11/25-The Greatest Story Ever Told- Richard III by David Andrews

David’s interest in history stemmed from a book given to him by his grandmother- “Kings and Queens of England” which shows its age by finishing with George V. He knows the book so well he can recite all the dates and names and uses it as a way of getting to sleep if needed.

He is from Kent but went to York University to study Medieval History. By a lottery draw he then chose Leicester to do teacher training and has stayed there ever since.

He taught history for 9 years and became a deputy head.

He had a desire to be a journalist and applied to the BBC but with no success until he was lucky to be offered some voluntary work with Radio Leicester. His lucky break came when he went with a reporter to cover an event and the reporter became ill and David stepped in to cover. The boss at Radio Leicester was impressed and gave him a chance.

In 2015 he was very proud to be appointed a Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire.

David then gave us a quick history lesson on the royal family tree showing the houses of York and Lancaster ending with Richard III.

Richard III was portrayed as a tyrant primarily because of the way Shakespeare’s play influenced people’s perception.

He then gave detailed and interesting facts on Richard’s life and the tragedies he suffered when his son died of influenza and his wife died shortly afterwards. We still haven't solved the mystery of the Princes in the Tower!

Richard was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field after an attempt at heroism failed. He was buried in Leicester in the Church of the Greyfriars, but over the years after the Reformation and the closure of the Abbey, the site had been built on and developed many times over. By the 21^st C. the site had become the car park of Leicester’s Social Services building.

In 2012 an archaeological dig in that car park in Leicester on the site of the former Greyfriars Friary had a remarkable stroke of luck when Richard’s body was located on the first day. By DNA testing the remains against a descendent from Canada it was proved to be Richard. He had the curved spine and battle wounds.

There then followed an argument as to where he should be buried which was settled in Court that it should be in Leicester at the nearest consecrated ground. This took 3 years to resolve.

A grand ceremony and 3 days lying in state followed before the reburial.

David said that he had been told that the chances of finding the body were about the same as winning the lottery or Leicester City winning the Premier League which they did a year later.

Mary gave the Vote of Thanks commenting on his grandmother’s gift, reinforced with his being in Mr. Bakers class and his luck at being in the right place at the right time!  An excellent, entertaining, informative and well-presented talk.                  IT