Geoffrey Thomas Leslie Ashe (1923 - 2022)

Born 29 Mar 1923 in Acton, London, England

Ancestors

Died 30 Jan 2022 at age 98 in Glastonbury, Somerset, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Geoffrey Ashe is Notable.

Geoffrey Thomas Leslie was born in 1923. He is the son of Arthur William Isaac Ashe and Thelma Sydney Hoodless. Extract from the UK Births, Marriages and Deaths Index Birth: Ashe, Geoffrey T. L., at Brentford in March 1923 -- mother's name was Hoodless. Marriage: Ashe, Geoffrey T. L., to Dorothy I. Train at Surrey in June 1946.

Extract from Wikipedia Geoffrey Thomas Leslie Ashe, MBE, (born 29 March 1923) is a British cultural historian, a writer of non-fiction books and novels. Born in London, Ashe spent several years in Canada growing up, graduating from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, before continuing at Cambridge. Ashe was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to heritage.

Extract from "This is Somerset" online dated 5 January 2012 The Somerset historian who gave a fresh insight into the legend of King Arthur has been recognised for services to heritage with an MBE in the New Year Honours List. Geoffrey Ashe, 88, of Glastonbury started the idea that there could be a historical basis for Arthur at a time when there was very little interest among scholars and historians. He has succeeded in convincing many that he was a real leader, not just the stuff of legend. His first book, King Arthur's Avalon (Collins 1957), went into the question of who Arthur might have been and captured public interest and The Discovery of King Arthur (Doubleday 1985) put forward his view as to who the real Arthur was. Mr Ashe said: "We should never forget that there was a real king \endash there is even a letter to him in existence. I have described how it all starts \endash a British king, who is on record (mid 5th century)." Mr Ashe said he received the news of his MBE with "very great satisfaction and very great joy" and saw it as an affirmation of his work. He said he was "deeply appreciative of all who had supported him". Mr Ashe has written 26 books and continues his work at Chalice Orchard, at the foot of Glastonbury Tor, where he has lived for 37 years. Geoffrey's youngest son, Brendan Ashe, said of his father: "He has teased King Arthur out from a mythical romantic haze into the broad daylight of a British chieftain, with a real career and concrete deeds. "This is not just academic. Arthur touches on our notions of Britishness, of how we stopped fighting and reconciled under a banner of courage, duty, right, and the urge to protect the weak."

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Sources

See also:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Ashe