John Stanley Purviss Commemorative Stone
| Browse information by: Location Makers General Information Classification Object Parts Object Condition History References Photographs |  Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright for Photograph: Creative Commons |
Location
| Street: | Church Street |
| Town: | Steyning |
| Parish: | Steyning |
| Council: | Horsham District Council |
| County: | West Sussex |
| Postcode: | BN44 |
| Location on Google Map | |
| Object setting: | On building |
| Location note: | Affixed to the wall at the entrance to the museum. |
| Page: | 130 |
| Grid reference: | A3 |
| The A-Z books used are A-Z East Sussex and A-Z West Sussex (Editions 1A 2005). Geographers' A-Z Map Company Ltd. Sevenoaks. | |
| Previous location: | Mouse Lane, next to Charlton Court Barn (installed 2000) |
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Makers
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General Information
| Work is: | Extant |
| Owner custodian: | Steyning Museum |
| Object listing: | Not listed |
| Description: | Faces north. |
| Inscription: | I can't forget the lane that goes from Steyning to the Ring In summer time and on the downs how larks and linnets sing High in the sun. The wind comes off the sea, and oh the air! I never knew till now that life in old days was so fair. But now I know it in this filthy rat infested ditch Where every shell must kill or spare, and God alone knows which. And I am made a beast of prey, and this is my lair. My God I never knew till now that those days were so fair. And we assault in half an hour and it's a silly thing I can't forget the lane that goes from Steyning to the Ring. Written by John Stanley Purvis - Philip Johnson 5th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment on 2nd Decbr. 1915 in a trench behind the Somme This stone was placed in the lane by the people of Steyning in the year 2000 AD in celebration of their inheritance. |
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Classification
| Categories: | Commemorative, Military |
| Object type1: | Marker |
| Object subtype1: | Commemorative stone |
| Subject type1: | Non-figurative |
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Object Parts
| Part 1: | Stone |
| Material: | Concrete |
| Height (cm): | 85 |
| Width (cm): | 125 |
| Depth (cm): | 9 |
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Object Condition
| Overall condition: | Good |
| Risk assessment: | No known risk |
| Condition 1 of type: | Structural |
| Condition 1: | Cracks, splits, breaks, holes |
| More details: | Cracked straight across the top left hand corner. |
| Date of on-site inspection: | 11/12/2007 |
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History
| History: | The stone was originally placed on Mouse Lane as part of the Milennium celebrations. It was damaged when a lorry backed into it and it was subsequently placed in its current location when it was replaced on the original site by a new one.
Dedicated to the author, Lt. John Stanley Purvis, who wrote under the pseudonym of Philip Johnson. Engraved on this stone is his poem, ‘Chance Memories’ (http://www.chequerinnsteyning.co.uk/) British Lieutenant John Stanley Purvis, who wrote under the pseudonym of Philip Johnstone, was invalided out of the army having been wounded during the Battle of the Somme. Following the war he returned to Cranleigh School in Surrey where he had previously taught. He then took holy orders and at the age of 50 he settled in York. Here he gained an international reputation as the translator of the York Mystery Plays and was awarded the OBE for work on the York Minster archives. He died in York in 1968. (http://oldpoetry.com/oauthor/show/John_Stanley_Purvis) The mystery is how Purvis came to write the poem sitting in a trench waiting to 'go over the top' when, according to their official history, the 5th Battalion had been at rest from 12th November to 19th December in billets near Outtersteene, some two and a half miles from Bailleul. |
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References
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Photographs
Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |  Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |
 Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons | |
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