F. W. Harvey
Encyclopedia
Frederick William Harvey (26 March 1888 – 13 February 1957) was an English poet, known for poems composed in prisoner-of-war camps at Krefeld
and Gütersloh
that were sent back to England
, during World War I
.
He was born in Hartpury
, Gloucestershire
. He was educated at the King's School, Gloucester, where he formed a close friendship with Ivor Gurney
, and then at Rossall School
. Gurney and Herbert Howells
, another local composer, would set a number of his poems to music.
He started on a legal career, which would always be somewhat tentative. He became a Roman Catholic convert in 1914, and shortly after joined the Gloucestershire Regiment as a private soldier, as World War I
broke out.
Serving in France
, he was awarded the D. C. M. in 1915, and returned to England for officer training. He was captured behind the German
lines in 1916, where he began to write more seriously.
He returned home in 1919, and married in 1921. He did not enjoy any sustained success as a writer, and never fully settled.
Krefeld
Krefeld , also known as Crefeld until 1929, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its centre lying just a few kilometres to the west of the River Rhine; the borough of Uerdingen is situated directly on the Rhine...
and Gütersloh
Gütersloh
Gütersloh is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in the area of Westphalia and the administrative region of Detmold. Gütersloh is the administrative centre for a district of the same name and has a population of 96,320 people.- Geography :...
that were sent back to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
He was born in Hartpury
Hartpury
Hartpury is a rural parish of with some 270 homes and a population of about 700. It is situated about north of the city of Gloucester, England. Geographically it lies within the Leadon Vale; administratively it is part of the Forest of Dean....
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
. He was educated at the King's School, Gloucester, where he formed a close friendship with Ivor Gurney
Ivor Gurney
Ivor Bertie Gurney was an English composer and poet.-Life:Born at 3 Queen Street, Gloucester in 1890, the second of four children of David Gurney, a tailor, and his wife Florence, a seamstress, Gurney showed musical ability early...
, and then at Rossall School
Rossall School
Rossall School is a British, co-educational, independent school, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St. Vincent Beechey as a sister school to Marlborough College which had been founded the previous year...
. Gurney and Herbert Howells
Herbert Howells
Herbert Norman Howells CH was an English composer, organist, and teacher, most famous for his large output of Anglican church music.-Life:...
, another local composer, would set a number of his poems to music.
He started on a legal career, which would always be somewhat tentative. He became a Roman Catholic convert in 1914, and shortly after joined the Gloucestershire Regiment as a private soldier, as World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out.
Serving in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, he was awarded the D. C. M. in 1915, and returned to England for officer training. He was captured behind the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
lines in 1916, where he began to write more seriously.
He returned home in 1919, and married in 1921. He did not enjoy any sustained success as a writer, and never fully settled.
Works
- A Gloucestershire Lad At Home and Abroad (1916)
- Gloucestershire Friends (1917)
- Ducks (1919)
- Comrades in Captivity: a record of life in seven German prison camps (1920) (war memoirs)
- Farewell (1921)
- September and Other Poems (1925)
- In Pillowell Woods (1926)
- Forest Offering
- Gloucestershire (1947)