The Real Hereward

"We're peaceful Saxons - not the murdering savages the Normans call us."

Writer: Unknown 

Format: Short Story

Released: September 1984

Printed in: Doctor Who Annual 1985

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Peri

Synopsis 

The Sixth Doctor and Peri arrive in England shortly after the Battle of Hastings and meet up with Hereward the Great and his men. With the TARDIS lost and the Normans closing in, will the true identity of Hereward be enough to save them?

Verdict 

The Real Hereward was a very good short story from the 1985 Doctor Who Annual but I must say that in terms of historical accuracy, it was completely and utterly bonkers. The claim that King Harold and Hereward the Great is just unfathomable but I think because it was so ludicrous, I liked it. To be honest, I really shouldn't have seeing as I'm a History student! Granted, my studies currently don't go further back than the Tudors and based on my module choices for second year, that isn't going to change, but I know a great deal about periods of history that I'm yet to study in real depth thanks to my own research and to claim that these two people are the same person is just brilliantly bonkers. It works very well for a Doctor Who story and I'm glad that a short story from an Annual has sparked this much debate from myself but also from others online. The Wikipedia page for Hereward the Great actually mentions this story which I think is just wonderful because I would bet good money that most Doctor Who fans wouldn't have even heard of this story, let alone read it and far less have gone as far as me to blog my verdict on it. I'm just glad that I have a lot to talk about when it comes to a short story because sometimes these blog entries can be difficult to write sufficient amounts about when it comes to Doctor Who Annual stories but in all honesty that's more with the modern ones. The Classic ones are wonderful and I'm lucky enough to own three of them now but thanks to Scribd again, which helped me read Castaway yesterday, I have been able to read my third short story from this 21st anniversary Annual. Battle Planet and Day of the Dragon were very good and I'm glad that the high standard continued here. Even though there weren't many pages, I thought the characterisation of the Sixth Doctor was excellent with Colin Baker's likeness captured very quickly which impressed me because this story only had The Twin Dilemma to base this incarnation's portrayal on. Nicola Bryant's likeness as Peri was also captured in print excellently which pleased me because she also hadn't been companion too long at this point after arriving in Planet of Fire. The English Fenlands setting was good and I liked how the Doctor and Peri were embroiled in the aftermath of the Battle of Hastings. It was quite the battle and the description of it with the Normans pretending to run away was marvellous. However, I keep coming back to the revelation in the Doctor Who universe at least that King Harold and Hereward are the same person and that's rightly why this story will be remembered. I am yet to come to a Doctor Who Annual as ludicrous or controversial as that and whilst I still have a lot of catching up to do, I doubt it'll be seriously challenged. I thought the artwork that accompanied the text was very impressive and having just a bit of colour alongside blocks of text really does make the story a lot more readable and enjoyable. It was fantastic and despite the completely bonkers historical accuracy, I liked it. The casual reader probably wouldn't question the information given but it wasn't getting past me! However, I think it just added to the story which was great and I liked how the Doctor advised Harold, or Hereward, to stay quiet and give the Saxons something to fight for. Overall, ludicrous brilliance. 

Rating: 8/10