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 ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

. 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 from December 1936 to August 1937. During that time, he served in the

British Battalion The British Battalion (1936–1938; officially the Saklatvala Battalion) was the 16th battalion of the XV International Brigade, one of the mixed brigades of the International Brigades, during the Spanish Civil War. It comprised British and ...

, the

Lincoln Battalion The Lincoln Battalion ( es, Batallón Abraham Lincoln) was the 17th (later the 58th) battalion of the XV International Brigade, a mixed brigade of the International Brigades also known as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. It was organized by the C ...

and

XIV International Brigade 300px, A memorial commemorating the International Brigades The XIV International Brigade was one of several international brigades that fought for the Spanish Second Republic during the Spanish Civil War. History and structure It was raised on ...

staff. He was wounded in the right hand by a sniper's explosive bullet in a lull between fighting in the trenches at

Jarama Jarama () is a river in central Spain. It flows north to south, and passes east of Madrid where the El Atazar Dam is built on a tributary, the Lozoya River. It flows into the river Tagus in Aranjuez. The Manzanares is a tributary of the Jaram ...

. 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 Thomas Henry Wintringham (15 May 1898 – 16 August 1949) was a British soldier, military historian, journalist, poet, Marxist, politician and author. He was a supporter of the Home Guard during the Second World War and was one of the founder ...

Fred Copeman Frederick Bayes Copeman OBE (1907–1983) was an English volunteer in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War, commanding the British Battalion. He is also notable for contributing to London's air raid defences during the Second ...

André Marty André Marty (6 November 1886 – 23 November 1956) was a leading figure in the French Communist Party (PCF) for nearly thirty years. He was also a member of the National Assembly, with some interruptions, from 1924 to 1955; Secretary of Comintern ...

, Martin Hourihan, Jock Cunningham,

George Nathan Samuel George Montague Nathan (20 January 1895 – 16 July 1937) was an English soldier who served in the British Army during World War I, the Royal Irish Constabulary's Auxiliary Division during the Irish War of Independence and the Internatio ...

, 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