Reflections

Continuing yesterday's theme of books, this volume came from my wife's grandfather's collection (he was a theologian). It is Brooke Foss Westcott's 'An introduction to the study of the Gospels'. Westcott was Bishop of Durham from 1890 until his death in 1901 and the book was published in 1895. I thought nothing more of it when I picked it up but it has a history that rapidly unfolded and will end with a visit to Belgium.

On the inside cover I discovered that the book had been presented to Norman Gawan-Taylor as a prize for Hellenistic Greek at Durham School (where he was a King's Scholar) in July 1912. Norman Gawan-Taylor subsequently won a scholarship to Sidney Sussex College Cambridge in 1913.

My wife's grandfather, also a Durham scholar, has written 'in memoriam April 24th 1917' on the book plate. I assume that somehow the book had come into his possession before or shortly after that date which is when 2nd Lt Gawan-Taylor of the 3rd Battalion (attached to the 8th Bn) of the York and Lancaster Regiment was killed in action. He is buried at Zantvoorde British Military Cemetry near Ypres in Belgium. He was aged 23. His brother Francis, aged 22, in the same regiment was also killed and is remembered on the Menin Gate memorial in Ypres.

My wife's grandfather called his first son, who would have been born around 1920, Gawan. I'm not sure if this is the reason why but I like to think so. Either way, I've decided to visit Zantvoorde later this year.