Acton-born author Ronald Blythe honoured for decades of literary contributions following death at age of 100

A famous Suffolk-born writer has been remembered for his decades of contributions to the literary world, following his death over the weekend.

Ronald Blythe died on Saturday, just a couple of months on from celebrating his milestone 100th birthday.

Having been born in Acton and educated in Sudbury, Mr Blythe became renowned for his writings on the environment and rural life, publishing dozens of books, both fiction and non-fiction, across more than 50 years.

His best-known work was the 1969 text Akenfield – Portrait of an English Village, a fictionalised account of agricultural life in Suffolk, which was subsequently adapted into a film in 1974.

In 2017, he was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), for services to literature.

Sudbury Town Council posted a tribute on Monday, stating: “On the sad news of the death of Ronald Blythe CBE, we recognise and are grateful for the incredible literary contribution this great, local writer has made to the world of words.”

Mr Blythe was also a former canon at St Edmundsbury Cathedral.

The Rt Rev Martin Seeley, Bishop of the St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocese, said Mr Blythe touched the hearts and imagination of people in Suffolk and around the world through his extraordinary evocative writing.

He said: "We are all saddened by his death, and thankful for all he has given us.

“I think my first encounter with Suffolk was reading Akenfield as a student, and that surely kindled for me my love of this county.

“Ronald continued to write and many of us looked forward each week to read his weekly column in the Church Times.

“Ronald was a faithful Reader, and had served as a lay canon of the cathedral. He will be greatly missed, but his writing will continue to inspire and delight us.”