Author: Geoff Davis

On 19th April 2013 the F.W. Harvey Society held their Annual General Meeting and a memorable evening of dialect poetry at Newnham on Severn. In a packed Railway Inn, the Society and friends gathered to listen to listen to recordings and readings of dialect poetry. The Society also used the occasion to give a special thanks to David Price, their host for the evening. The AGM reflected on a very successful year that increased regional and national appreciation of the life and work of F.W. Harvey.

The evening began with a remarkable tape recording made many years previously and donated to the Society and Gloucestershire Archives. The aim of playing the tape was to establish the author and the origin of the recording. The narrator described F.W. Harvey’s love of Gloucestershire and Minsterworth. He read nine of F.W. Harvey’s best dialect poems concluding with ‘Martha Bazin on Marriage’. The audience immediately recognised the voice of the late Harry Beddington, the popular Forest humourist and author. One member of the audience remembered the sister of the biographer, Frances Townsend, going to see Harry late in his life to make the recording. So the mystery was solved and the very special recording can now be properly attributed to Harry Beddington. The last poem included the line ‘modern life has old beginnings’ and so it was that the audience was treated to a live performance of the works of Forest bard Keith Morgan, whose ballads told the story of humorous local events and people stretching across Bream, Coleford and Lydney.

The F.W. Harvey Society performed a special version of ‘A River, a Pig and Brains’ in honour of the host. David Price, manager of the Railway Inn, a book collector and local historian, has been a lifelong admirer of F.W. Harvey and committed supporter of the Society. He was presented with a replica drinking horn, as used by Willum Fry to inebriate the pig, and a book, in recognition of his hospitality and support for the Society and the Railway Inn’s recent achievement of winning the CAMRA Cider Pub of the Year award. His support of the local cider industry is part of David’s commitment to local traditions, much of which is reflected in the verse of F.W. Harvey. The final part of the evening was given over to contemporary poets reciting their dialect work; Rob Brain and Annie Cavill. These performances were applauded by the audience who had enjoyed a generous cider and cheese supper provided by the host. Following a poem read by Maurice Bent, Keith Morgan concluded with a selection of his favourite F.W. Harvey poems.

The members of the Society attending the AGM were delighted with the growing membership of the Society and the success of events held in the Forest and Gloucester last year. The discovery of F.W. Harvey’s personal papers and the subsequent archiving project had been another highlight. This year the Society is concentrating on promoting the dialect poetry of F.W. Harvey and his pioneering attempts to bring dialect to a wider audience before the Second World War. For 2014 the Society is already looking forward to a performance of Choral work composed by Richard Shepherd, featuring the words of F.W. Harvey, being performed at Gloucester Cathedral.

Roger Deeks said: ‘We had a lot of laughter, excellent food, drink and good company; everything F.W. Harvey would have approved of. We are grateful for the support of our members and our host tonight, David Price.’

F.W. Harvey factoid: In 1952 a rather poorly, jaundiced, young Duke of Edinburgh was given a copy of F.W. Harvey’s poems: Gloucestershire Lad. His private secretary wrote to say how much he enjoyed it, particularly the poem Ballade of Damnable Things.

On Thursday 21st March 2013 Doug McLean and Jan O’Neill (formerly Bayliss) gave a concert performing the songs on their CD While Blossom Blows and Severn Flows at The Venue, Whitemead Park, Parkend, Forest of Dean.

Celebrating the 125th Anniversary of local WW1 poet Will Harvey’s birth, the concert drew an enthusiastic crowd to the Venue to see Doug and Jan perform, supported by Keith Morgan. The folk duo performed settings of Will’s poems composed by themselves and some songs the poet was known to have loved. Their rendition of The Old Bold Mate was enjoyed and had the audience singing along. Songs were interspersed with Keith Morgan reading Will Harvey’s amusing poems full of forest folklore and humour. Jan and Doug played all the songs from their CD. The song Lovers Goodbye showed the quality of Jan’s fine singing and captured the sadness of parted lovers. However it was Song of Gloucestershire that won the hearts of the audience and made them feel they were walking along the banks of the Severn on a warm May day. Everyone joined in the rousing chorus before leaving to face a wintry evening.

The performers were delighted that Eileen, F.W. Harvey’s daughter (now aged 91), attended the concert. Jan O’Neill said: “It was worth all the work and rehearsing just to hear Eileen say that her father would have been absolutely thrilled with the music and the evening! It was a great honour to perform for her.”

The F.W. Harvey Legacy, Kings School, Gloucester 27th October 2012

A play not heard in 77 years was performed by the F.W. Harvey Society at King’s School Gloucester on Saturday morning. An appreciative large audience turned out to hear the story of Gunter’s Farm, the first part of four plays written by the poet in 1935 to bring the culture, dialect and story of a Gloucestershire farming family to a radio audience. The play’s approach to telling the everyday story of a farming family was followed in 1950 by the BBC commissioning the Archers. The script of the play was discovered as Gloucestershire Archives prepared for the cataloguing of a collection of papers donated by the late poets family; a mammoth task that will be made possible through a Research & Enterprise in Arts & Creative Technology (REACT) postgraduate scholarship awarded by the University of Exeter to a doctoral researcher. The play was preceded by the launch of the project at which Professor Tim Kendall, Head of English at the University of Exeter said: “Harvey was significant in his own right as a poet, memoirist and broadcaster, and his correspondence with friends like the poet-composer Ivor Gurney provides a crucial insight into the cultural life of the region in the early part of the century.”

There was an excellent talk from the Deputy Head of King’s School, Mr David Evans who provided a remarkable insight, complete with pictures and actual uniform, of daily life at the school in the time of F.W. Harvey and his friend Ivor Gurney. The Play that followed featured remarkable performances from Eric Freeman, Carole Warren and her sister Sharon Thomas, Geoff Davis, Eric Nicholls, Amanda Deeks, Teresa Davies, Marie Fraser Griffiths and Anthony Boden playing the part of the poet. Several of the parts were written in dialect and had very funny lines that caused a great deal of laughter and enjoyment. Steve Cooper was particularly amusing as the police constable enforcing animal hygiene laws, not much different to those that exist today. The background to F.W. Harvey’s extensive broadcasting career had been addressed in the Forest of Dean Local History Society’s latest edition of their Journal, New Regard and members of the Local History Society were on hand with information about this and their work in the Forest. A delightful selection of photographs of farming scenes and life on the River Severn were also on display and enjoyed by participants including the late poet’s daughter Eileen Griffiths, his granddaughter Elaine and her husband Peter.

The family of F.W. Harvey and the organiser of the event Teresa Davies of Woolaston were thanked; Teresa was especially thanked for her work in initially assessing the archive of papers before they were handed over to Gloucestershire Archive and for her work in making the day a success. Eric Freeman, the leading man and a connoisseur of cider was given a selection of local brews by David Price, landlord of the Railway Inn at Newnham-on-Severn. A report on the event will be included in Vernon Harwood’s, BBC Radio Gloucestershire programme ‘Country Matters’ (10.00am-12.00pm) on Sunday morning 4th November.

Grant Repshire is the doctoral researcher who was awarded the postgraduate scholarship by the University of Exeter. This is the link to his blog.

Tuesday 16th October 2012; 7.30 pm, Railway Inn, Station Road, Newnham on Severn

Will Harvey was a formative influence on Leonard Clark, inspiring and mentoring him to write his own poems and books. Clark’s first book of poems published in 1919 owed much to the style and interests of his tutor. His attitude to poetry and writing mirrored Harvey’s in that he believed it was a vehicle to personal growth and happiness and an important part of the formal education process. Clark became a noted educationalist, producing anthologies of poems for schools and guiding how literature and poetry should be taught in schools nationally.

The first half of the evening at the Railway discussed the common threads that linked the two poets and shed some light on Clark’s distinguished career and contribution to poetry and education. The second was an open floor for readings of Clark and Harvey poems that members most enjoy.

Appreciation of the literature was of course aided by access to the Railway’s remarkable range of cider and snacks.

Saturday 22nd September 2012; 2-5 pm at Minsterworth Village Hall

This was an exhibition of F.W. Harvey papers and documents that are now on long term deposit at Gloucestershire Archives. The F.W. Harvey society has been working with the family of F.W. Harvey to deposit the papers of F.W. Harvey in the Gloucestershire Archives. There, enabled by three years of funding through the University of Exeter, the papers will be stored, preserved and catalogued.

En route to their new home the papers were exhibited for members only at Minsterworth Village Hall.

August 2012: German Report of Forest Poet’s Capture from 1916 Discovered in Munich Archive

First World War historian Peter Barton well known for his studies and excavations on the Western Front has made an amazing discovery in an archive in Munich Germany. He has contacted the to tell us how, while researching a book about the Battle of Fromelles in 1916, he discovered a report written by a German Intelligence Officer describing the capture and interrogation of Lieutenant Frederick William Harvey of the Gloucestershire Regiment.

F.W. Harvey was captured on 17 August 1916 when he undertook a lone reconnaissance into No Man’s Land and slipped into a German trench. Will recounted the story of his capture many times on radio, in newspapers and in his biography Comrades in Captivity, believing he had been saved from being shot or bayoneted by his laughter at the sight of a German soldier who was the exact likeness of a labourer on his father’s farm at Minsterworth. He also went on to recount his interrogation by a German Intelligence officer, whom he described as an affable gentleman and seemed better informed about the allies disposition than him. He offered his regulation name, rank and serial number and lied in response to further questions. He was very impressed with the German ‘Secret Service’, their knowledge and command of English.

Peter Barton, responsible for the ongoing excavations at La Boiselle and researching a book about the Battle of Fromelles, where a new cemetery has been established for soldiers found in mass unmarked graves, went to the Munich Kriegsarchiv in Germany to look at German sources of information about the battle. He was directed to a file that contained intelligence reports and discovered the previously unseen report of the interrogation of Lieutenant Harvey by a German Major in the Intelligence Service, which begins: The prisoner is 28 years old and a lawyer by profession. He joined the army voluntarily as a common soldier on 8 August 1914 and says that he came to France with the I/V Gloucs Reg in March 1915. The report remarks: Concerning all other, purely military questions, the officer does not want to give any information. The report goes on to list the questions put to him and his rather obtuse replies. Peter Barton, recognising the significance of the report has contacted the Society, providing a translated transcription of the report and remarking on how ‘tight lipped’ Will Harvey had remained relative to other captives. However, in typical fashion, when asked when the War would end Lieutenant Harvey replied: The end of the war was likely in his opinion to come about only with the restoration of common sense in Europe.

Roger Deeks, Chair of the F.W. Harvey Society has said, ‘We are extremely grateful to Peter Barton for recognising the value of the report to the Society and for contacting us. The report has lain in a Munich Archive since the end of the War (94 years ago) and we think F.W. Harvey would have been amused to know what his ‘affable gentleman’ wrote about him. We have sent Peter a copy of Comrades in Captivity by way of thanks.’

F.W. Harvey observed that his antics on the Western Front were destined to either get him killed or win a medal, but he never anticipated capture. His confinement provided the opportunity to produce some of the most powerful poetry of the War remembering his beloved Gloucestershire.

See also this Wikipedia article.