War hero's writings to be collected at city archives

A FORGOTTEN war hero who wrote some of the most stirring poetry of the First World War will now have his work collected in one place.

The majority of Frederick William Harvey's prose has spent the past 80 years hidden at the family's Gloucestershire home.

But now the selection of letters and scrapbooks that chronicle the laureate of Gloucestershire's life has been offered to the county's archives based in Clarence Road, Gloucester.

FW Harvey (pictured) trained as a solicitor before enlisting and he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, eventually becoming an officer.

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But in 1916, he was captured and his lengthy imprisonment is described in his book Comrades in Captivity, detailing his daring escape attempts as well as some remarkable poetry which was later published to national acclaim in Britain.

After the war he combined a single-handed legal practice in the Forest of Dean village of Yorkley with a BBC broadcasting career.

He died in 1957 but his house and precious archive of papers and literature were maintained by his son Patrick.

Following Patrick's passing and the discovery of FW Harvey's works, the hoard will now be made available to researchers at Gloucestershire Archives.

A spokesman for the FW Harvey Society, which has helped make the move happen, said: "This is a wonderful development that will awaken interest in FW Harvey and stimulate awareness of the important developments in music and literature that took place in Gloucestershire. The archive is a fabulous testament to an exceptional man who lived through extraordinary times."