Forest of Dean Poet Commemorated

W Harvey was one of the most popular British War Poets and is known as The Laureate of Gloucestershire. Born in Hartpury, he was brought up in Minsterworth, lived briefly in a railway carriage in Broad Oak and spent the last thirty years of his life in Yorkley in the Forest of Dean.

Despite being a prolific poet, Will Harvey never received the recognition bestowed on contemporaries such as Siegfried Sassoon, Rupert Brooke, Wilfred Owen and Ivor Gurney, Harvey‚s close friend and Gloucestershire compatriot, although his poem Ducks has been in many anthologies.

But it is now hoped to rectify that omission with the formation of a F W Harvey Society committed to raising his profile and exploring his remarkable life not only during the Great War but in the small Forest of Dean village where he chose to live for most of his life.

And Yorkley village hall will be the scene of the launch of the new society on Sunday January 31, formed with the blessing of Eileen Griffiths, Harvey's daughter, and supported by Harvey's biographer Anthony Boden.

More information from Secretary Marie Fraser Griffiths on 01594 843107

Full details are available on the F.W Harvey Society website.

Notes:

Frederick William Harvey was born in Hartpury on March 26 1912 and died at High Beech, Yorkley, on February 13 1957.

He fought in Flanders and was decorated for bravery before being made a prisoner of war, when he wrote much his verse. He also wrote a remarkable memoir of his experiences, Comrades in Captivity.

He became a solicitor after the war, practicing in Swindon, Gloucester, Newnham and Lydney.

All his poetry collections are now out of print and are collectors‚ items fetching high prices.

An edition of collected poems published by Doug McLean at The Forest Bookshop in 1983 has just been republished and topped the charts at the Coleford bookshop.