Keith D. Foord

Keith Foord was born in Hastings and educated at the former Hastings Grammar School, Sheffield University and Medical School, has degrees in both materials science and medicine and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists. Now retired he and his family live in Battle on the path of Duke William's route to the Battle of Hastings. Keith always had an interest in the early history of England, but as a busy doctor with a young family he only had time for it to be an amateur interest.He did not start writing history books until after his retirement when in 2011 he was asked to write a history of all the churches of Battle, including the destroyed Battle Abbey church. This was a local success and after this his historical writing expanded its width. In 2015, together with Neil Clephane-Cameron, with advice from Professor John Gillingham, he co-authored a book about the Norman Conquest as part of the commemoration of the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, '1066 and the Battle of Hastings - Preludes, Events and Postscripts'. This book goes into rather more detail about prior events and historical geographic elements than is usual, seeking the deep-seated reasons for the conflict and why it took place on their doorstep. Keith and Neil prepared a second edition of this book with additional assistance from Professor David Bates published during 2021.Keith has produced two other intriguing books placing the wider histories of eastern Sussex into a national and even international context: 'Conquest to Dissolution' (published 2019), and 'BC to 1066' (published 2020) between them covering the years from the beginning of time until 1538. Most recently published in November 2021 is a new history, advised by Professor David Bates, 'Harold Godwinson' - which has a vivid and thought-provoking narrative covering Harold's life, death, mythologies, family and legacy.