A Horsforth historian and writer who died last year has been honoured by the Richard III Foundation.
Peter Algar, pictured right, the author of the Yorkshire based The Shepherd Lord and Dead Man’s Hill books, was a patron of the Foundation and also served as a committee member on the John Davey Research Grant for Medieval Studies.
Now the international historical society has dedicated a literary award in his name.
The award, which was initially established in 1998, was designed to honour those whose “literary research raises the bar in our understanding of the fifteenth century.”
It will now be known as The Peter Algar Literary Award and will be presented to the author’s family in October at the Foundation’s annual symposium.
JoeAnn Ricca, founder and president of the foundation, said: “Peter was an exceptional man, a tremendous supporter of our organisation, a close personal friend but above all a humanist who exuded warmth to all he knew and who garnered tremendous respect from many people in Leeds and Yorkshire.”
“Peter committed himself to pursuing a historical career and those who knew him or read his blog or works, would remark that his historical knowledge, especially of Yorkshire, was absolutely second to none. It is a loss we still feel and a void that will never be filled.
“His two novels, while fiction, are so strong and so close to the non-fiction element of history, that they draw the reader into making him or her forget what they are reading is fiction.
“We hope the award, in Peter’s name, will enshrine the values which he cherished and spur on future writers and historians to explore the ‘true’ history of the period or at the very least not to accept the ‘apparent’ truth of our handed down or prima facie history.
“At a time when King Richard III is very much in the news, especially with the recent discovery of his remains, we are unable to think of a better literary ambassador for our increasingly significant and socially resonant cause.”
“On a personal note, I can’t think how enraptured Peter would be by the recent revelations. He always said Richard, as Governor of the North, was a champion of Yorkshire.”