Jason Gurney (1910–1973) was a British

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

who fought in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. His family moved to South Africa when he was a child and after leaving school he worked in Johannesburg. Eventually, he saved enough money to return to Europe. He was with the

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

from December 1936 to August 1937. During that time, he served in the British Battalion, the Lincoln Battalion and XIV International Brigade staff. He was wounded in the right hand by a sniper's explosive bullet in a lull between fighting in the trenches at Jarama. His wound was sufficiently serious to send him home and to ensure that he never worked as a sculptor again. His perceptive and vivid memoirs of the

were published posthumously and are drawn from heavily by historians. He knew and described Tom Wintringham Fred Copeman, André Marty, Martin Hourihan, Jock Cunningham, George Nathan, Vladimir Copic, Steve Nelson, and many others.

Sources

*Jason Gurney, ''Crusade in Spain'', Faber. 1974.

External links

For a detailed biography and extensive extracts from "Crusade in Spain"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurney, Jason 1910 births 1973 deaths British people of the Spanish Civil War International Brigades personnel 20th-century British sculptors British male sculptors 20th-century British male artists