Gurney

IVOR GURNEY (1890 - 1937)

After being gassed during service on the western front, Gurney was sent back to England in 1917. Reluctant to return to France, he went on a four-month signals course in Northumberland. He was billeted, most probably in Gloucester Terrace, New Hartley, near Seaton Delaval; the terrace had been named for the regiment at the beginning of the war and still stands behind the club in the tiny village.

In a letter of 17 November to Winifred Chapman, Gurney says: 'This place is a pit village, ugly enough, but the (rather tame) sea is only four miles away, and the wind roars continually.' He continued to write poetry at Seaton Delaval, however, including 'Lying awake in the ward', published in War Embers. As a pianist and song-writer (his songs were being performed in London at this time) he also vamped accompaniment at a parish concert ('Some concert! but they were very pleased.') Gurney had been invited to tea on 23 December and, though he pined for his native Gloucestershire (rather unfairly comparing the spring and autumn evenings there with winter in the coalfield) he found that 'the people are kind, which makes up for a lot.'

In a letter to Marion Scott of 10 January 1918, he complains of his quarters being a 'freezing, ugly, uncomfortable Hell of a hole. The other men get round the fire and take the bench, and one cannot write in the billet on the table therefore. Only warm weather or France will alter things.' He bought More Soldier Songs in Blyth, however, to inspire him (though on 20 January, he writes that he bought it in Newcastle).

A letter to Marion Scott of 25 February 1918 tells her of his examination in Ward A17, No. 1 in the Newcastle General Hospital. Having expected only to report, the verdict depressed him and he walked into the city to pick up a Boswell and took comfort from it. While convalescing, Gurney writes on 12 March 1918 from the Gallery Ward in Brancepeth Castle. He wrote several songs at the castle, despite the piano sounding like 'a boiler factory in full swing because of the stone walls.' He was in better spirits, despite his health problems, and a visit to Durham on 13 March 1918 left him awe-struck:

To gaze on that magnificent group of buildings from across the river on the first day of spring! O but it was a revelation, a vision beyond price!

Gurney writes again to Herbert Howells in 22 April 1918 from Ward 18 A in Newcastle General: 'It is Sunday and all the shops are shut, which does not brighten canny Newcassel, where people have very kind hearts and very rough manners often. Very hospitable in a manner almost unknown in the South where they are poorer.' Another letter on 7 May, says that 'the weather has been beautiful... and Tyne Side looked just like South Country. The sea in Whitley Bay was quite wonderful...'

Myers Literary Guide:	The North-East
IVOR GURNEY (1890 - 1937) After being gassed during service on the western front, Gurney was sent back to England in 1917. Reluctant to return to France, he went on a four-month signals course in Northumberland. He was billeted, most probably in Gloucester Terrace, New Hartley, near Seaton Delaval; the terrace had been named for the regiment at the beginning of the war and still stands behind the club in the tiny village. In a letter of 17 November to Winifred Chapman, Gurney says: 'This place is a pit village, ugly enough, but the (rather tame) sea is only four miles away, and the wind roars continually.' He continued to write poetry at Seaton Delaval, however, including 'Lying awake in the ward', published in War Embers. As a pianist and song-writer (his songs were being performed in London at this time) he also vamped accompaniment at a parish concert ('Some concert! but they were very pleased.') Gurney had been invited to tea on 23 December and, though he pined for his native Gloucestershire (rather unfairly comparing the spring and autumn evenings there with winter in the coalfield) he found that 'the people are kind, which makes up for a lot.' In a letter to Marion Scott of 10 January 1918, he complains of his quarters being a 'freezing, ugly, uncomfortable Hell of a hole. The other men get round the fire and take the bench, and one cannot write in the billet on the table therefore. Only warm weather or France will alter things.' He bought More Soldier Songs in Blyth, however, to inspire him (though on 20 January, he writes that he bought it in Newcastle). A letter to Marion Scott of 25 February 1918 tells her of his examination in Ward A17, No. 1 in the Newcastle General Hospital. Having expected only to report, the verdict depressed him and he walked into the city to pick up a Boswell and took comfort from it. While convalescing, Gurney writes on 12 March 1918 from the Gallery Ward in Brancepeth Castle. He wrote several songs at the castle, despite the piano sounding like 'a boiler factory in full swing because of the stone walls.' He was in better spirits, despite his health problems, and a visit to Durham on 13 March 1918 left him awe-struck: To gaze on that magnificent group of buildings from across the river on the first day of spring! O but it was a revelation, a vision beyond price! Gurney writes again to Herbert Howells in 22 April 1918 from Ward 18 A in Newcastle General: 'It is Sunday and all the shops are shut, which does not brighten canny Newcassel, where people have very kind hearts and very rough manners often. Very hospitable in a manner almost unknown in the South where they are poorer.' Another letter on 7 May, says that 'the weather has been beautiful... and Tyne Side looked just like South Country. The sea in Whitley Bay was quite wonderful...'
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