MORE details about the life of the Forest's celebrated war poet FW Harvey have come to light in German archives.

A previously unseen report wriitten by a German intelligence officer about the capture and interrogation of Harvey was discovered in the Munich archives by Peter Barton, an historian known for his studies of the First World War.

Mr Barton was studying the Battle of Fromells when he discovered the report about the capture in August 1916 of Leiutenant Frederick William Harvey of the Gloucestershire Regiment.

The poet had been out on a 'lone reconnaissance' mission into 'No Man's Land' when he is said to have slipped into a German trench. His own recollections of the events of that time are recounted in his autobiography 'Comrades in Captivity,' and are also well documented in radio and press interviews he gave about his experiences.

He believed that he was saved from being bayonetted or shot by his German captors by his laughter at seeing an enemy soldier who had a remarkable likeness to a labourer on his father's farm at Minsterworth. Harvey also recounted many times that his interrogation by a German intelligence officer, whom he described as an 'affable gentleman', surprised him in the detail that the enemy knew of the Allied forces' positions.

Historian Peter Barton was directed to the unseen report by the German officer when researching a new book about the Battle of Fromelles in the Munich Kreigsarchiv (records office), when he came across the report of the poet's interrogation. It begins with "The prisoner is 28 years-old and a lawyer by profession. He joined the army voluntarily as a common soldier on August 8 1914 and says that he came to France with the I/V Gloucs Regiment in March 1915."

It added: "Concerning all other, purely military questions, the officer does not want to give any information." Harvey, it seems, had maintained the British Army response of only giving name, rank and serial number when apprehended.

But he could not resist delivering some of his typical wit when asked when the war would end: the young Lieutenant Harvey was reported to have replied: "The end of the war was likely in his opinion to come about only with the restoration of common sense in Europe."

Realising the importance of his find, Peter Barton contacted the Forest-based FW Harvey Society, and provided them with a transcript of the officer's report, and a translation.

Roger Deeks, chair of the society said: "We are extremely grateful to Peter Barton for recognising the value of the report.

"It has lain in a Munich archive since the end of the War and we think FW Harvey would have been amused to know what his 'affable gentleman' wrote about him." As a gesture of thanks, the Society have sent Peter Barton a copy of 'Comrades in Captivity.'

•The next FW Harvey Society events are 'FW Harvey and Leonard Clark – a Friendship Remembered in Stories and Verse' on Tuesday October 16 at the Railway Inn, Newnham on Severn at 7.30pm, and 'The FW Harvey Legacy' at The Kings School, Gloucester, on Saturday October 27 from 10.00am – 12.30pm. More details are available at their website: http://www.fwharvey">www.fwharvey society.co.uk.