Severn & Somme: "But here the peace is shattered all day by the devil's will"

Ivor Bertie Gurney was born in Gloucester on 28th August 1890. A chorister at Gloucester cathedral Ivor began to compose music at 14 before winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in 1911. Noted for his enormous potential he was equally thought by many to be un-teachable.

His studies were interrupted by World War I and his enlistment with the Gloucestershire Regiment. He was wounded in April 1917. He returned to duty but was gassed a few months later. After his release from hospi...