Will Harvey was passionate about beauty, walking and nature. His enthusiasm for nature and conservation of wild places was increasingly reflected in his work. He used his BBC broadcasting platform to support the inclusion of the Forest of Dean in the National Park and Countryside Act of 1949, a visionary piece of legislation that created a network for protected landscapes for the nation to enjoy. His attempts to include the Forest were unsuccessful because few saw the potential beyond the ravages of industrialisation. The debate about how to protect the now recovered landscape continues today.
Our event celebrates Harvey’s nature writing which had a major impact on Leonard Clark (whom he mentored), and the teaching of poetry in schools in the twentieth century. The event features the Forest of Dean’s Stewart Carswell (see below for more on Stewart), reading his poems and talking about the landscape and nature influences on his poetry.
We will also present a miscellany of previously unpublished Harvey poems, interspersed with readings from local contemporary poets Carol Sheppard and Claudia Robertson of their own nature-inspired work.
Newnham on Severn has several connections to Will Harvey. A regular visitor, after the First World War he worked in the Newnham Office of John Haines and lived in a pair of railway carriages converted to a home in nearby Broadoak. Newnham was also the home of Irene Woodward, his secretary, who joined him when he set up his new legal practice in Lydney. The day will begin with a walk around the places familiar to Will Harvey.
Saturday 10th October 2026
Program
11 am to 12.30 pm Walking to Work, Broadoak to Newnham.
A walk through Newnham looking at F. W. Harvey’s post-war years when he began his legal career and lived at Broadoak. Imagining his walk to work along the River Severn, his workplace and friends with key illustrative poems. The walk is half a mile, largely uphill over pavements and with plenty of stops.
Start: Meet at the River Car Park, Newnham on Severn GL14 1BH (Free parking. By the public toilets. A short walk to The George, where the afternoon events will take place)
End: The Green at the top of town.
Lunch: Members and the public are invited to have lunch in Newnham. Available venues in the town are The George Cafe, The Ship, and a little further out The Silver Fox Cafe, and The White Hart. (Bookings in each case would be advisable.)
1 pm to 1.45 pm An introduction to F.W. Harvey in Ten Poems
For those who know very little, if anything, about F.W. Harvey, this is an opportunity to find out more about his remarkable life and work. Members and those familiar with Harvey and his work may wish to join at 2.00pm.
Where: The Gallery, The George, Newnham High St Newnham on Severn GL14 1BS (a short walk from The River Car Park)
2 pm to 4.15 pm F.W. Harvey and the Legacy of Nature Writing
Welcome and Introduction: Chair, Roger Deeks
2.30pm: Guest speaker, poet Stewart Carswell, Landscape and Poetry
3.15 pm Break (available from the George Cafe)
3.30 pm A Poetry Miscellany
A selection of unpublished F.W. Harvey poems interspersed by verse from Forest of Dean contemporary poets.
4.15 pm Finish.
Where: The Gallery, The George, Newnham High St Newnham on Severn GL14 1BS
Free Public event. Donations in support of the Society welcomed.
In the interests of organisation and to enable us to let the George Cafe know approximate numbers for the tea break, it would be greatly appreciated if you could email fwharvey@gmail.com if you think you are coming. Thank you!
Books for sale and exhibits throughout the afternoon.
About Stewart Carswell
Stewart lives in the Forest of Dean. His poems have recently been published in Under the Radar, Finished Creatures, Atrium, Ink Sweat & Tears, and The Fig Tree; and he has performed at the Cheltenham Poetry Festival and Poetry in Aldeburgh Festival. He is the author of the pamphlets Sleeping Through the Stars (Yew Tree Press, 2026), Knots and Branches (Eyewear Publishing, 2016), and the full-length collection Earthworks (Indigo Dreams Publishing, 2021). Find out more at https://stewartcarswell.co.uk
Carol Sheppard
Carol Sheppard is a poet and playwright living in the Forest of Dean. She has been published in several poetry journals and was delighted to be Poet in Residence at the Gloucestershire Poetry Festival 2023. Her debut poetry collection Made of Glass was published by Red Balcony Press in 2025. Carol has had various plays professionally produced and runs the prominent playwriting group, Severn Playwrights, which has had numerous successful shows. She is an active member of Gloucestershire Poetry Society and Dean Writers Circle and writes a weekly column for The Citizen newspaper.
Claudia Robertson
Claudia Robertson is a writer (poetry and prose) from the Forest of Dean. She has won various poetry competitions, had poems published in anthologies and sold collections of her poems locally. She has also had short stories published in magazines, and is a keen member of the Dean Writers’ Circle.
She is currently preparing a collection of more than a hundred of her poems, rhymes and songs, all linked to the Forest, called:Aspects of the Forest of Dean, together with a long ballad (1600 lines) set in the Forest called The fair maid of Alvington and the Werewolf.