Norah Kathleen May Gurney ( Dewar) (1921 – 5 February 1974) was a British archivist and Director of the

Borthwick Institute of Historical Research The Borthwick Institute for Archives is the specialist archive service of the University of York, York, England. It is one of the biggest archive repositories outside London. The Borthwick was founded in 1953 as The Borthwick Institute of Histori ...

Biography

Norah Dewar was born in London in 1921 and studied modern history at

St Hugh's College, Oxford St Hugh's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It is located on a site on St Margaret's Road, to the north of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth as a women's college, and accepte ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

she worked in naval intelligence. In 1942 she married 2nd lieutenant Gerald D. Gurney. In 1946, after the end of her marriage, she joined

Sheffield County Library Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and ...

and worked in the local history and archives department. In 1956 she became assistant archivist to Canon J. S. Purvis as at the

, eventually succeeding him as Archivist-in-Charge from 1963. She was subsequently appointed Director in 1971, a post she held until her death in 1974. Gurney served on the Council of the British Records Association and on the British sub-committee of the Commission Internationale d’Histoire Ecclésiastique Comparée. She served on the committees of several text publication and local history societies: as treasurer of the

Canterbury and York Society The Canterbury and York Society is a British text publication society founded in 1904. It publishes scholarly editions of English medieval (pre-Reformation) ecclesiastical records, notably episcopal registers. History and activities The Society ...

, as vice-president of the

Surtees Society The Surtees Society is a text publication society and registered charity (No. 1003812) based in Durham in northern England. The society was established on 27 May 1834 by James Raine, following the death (on 11 February) of the renowned County D ...

, and Chair of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society.

Publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurney, Norah 1921 births 1974 deaths British archivists Alumni of St Hugh's College, Oxford Royal Navy personnel of World War II People from London