A HISTORIAN from Salisbury has received a national award for his contribution to local history. The British Association for Local History presented Jeremy Moody with his award during the Local History Day held at the Imperial War Museum in London.

Mr Moody - who is known as Frogg and has researched the social history for Salisbury for more than 20 years – said he was “over the moon” with the award.

“I am delighted,” he said. “You do this for love, really, over a long time but to have someone nominate you independently for an award means a lot.”

Jeremy uses imaginative ways to bring history alive, focussing on major events such as the Titanic and the 1906 railway disaster and using performances, talks, newsletters and websites to explore Salisbury’s links to those stories.

For example, his meticulous research into the murder of 12-year-old Teddy Haskell in 1908, with collaborators George Fleming and Bruce Purvis, resulted in a dramatised ‘trial’ of his mother in the same building as the original inquest and magistrates’ hearing.

A monograph on the 1906 railway disaster was accompanied by a centenary commemoration service at the station.