‘I always felt like I wasn’t part of society’

Reverend Larry Harvey strides through the numerous heavy doors and gateways of HMP Bristol – a place where some 30 years ago he was a prisoner.

Mug of coffee in hand, he sits down behind a cluttered desk in the small office he shares with fellow chaplains to tell the story of his extraordinary life from convict to Christian, and the ongoing battle to fight discrimination against gypsy and traveller communities.

Born into an English Romany Gypsy family, Larry fell into a life of crime from an early age and was put away in a young offenders’ institute by the time he was 15, racking up a total of 27 criminal convictions before he turned his life around.

He is anxious to make it clear that not everyone with a similar background gets into trouble as he did and spread the message that change is possible – even when it seems there’s no hope.

Larry has recently published a book about his life, Menace to Miracle, and is donating all proceeds to Southmead Hospital Charity to thank the NHS who saved his daughter’s life.

Larry is now chaplain at HMP, where he was once a prisoner

“The book is about giving hope to people who haven’t got any hope and it’s about change and how it’s possible to turn your life around,” he tells Bristol24/7, taking a sip of coffee and speaking with the relaxed demeanor of someone happy with their lot.

“I was in here as a prisoner 30 years ago and now I’m a full-time chaplain – the only full-time chaplain in the country.”

Going back to the beginning of his story, he recalls his mum and dad settling in Bristol, where they opened a big scrap yard.

“I went to school, but got bullied for being the only gypsy,” says Larry, who lives in Coalpit Heath.

“I remember asking my mum ‘do I smell? Because that was what some of the kids were saying even though I had brand new clothes on. I started fighting back and then made some good friends.

“I started to get into trouble at an early age and was put away in a young offenders when I was 15 for fighting.”

Some of his best childhood memories are from Empire Amateur Boxing Club – the spirit of which lives on at Empire Fighting Chance in Easton.

“My dad took me and my brothers boxing at Empire and we made so many friends of all different backgrounds and faiths. It’s an amazing club. It was some of the best times of my life growing up,” says Larry.

“Back in the 70s, racism was quite common, but I couldn’t see why. My late mother used to say everyone’s the same.”

He adds that he used to box at fairgrounds and was going to turn professional, but went off the rails.

Larry continues to challenge racism in all its guises and says discrimination against the gypsy and traveller communities is still rife.

“I see people using phrases like “pikey” and “gyppo” on Facebook and it is not seen in the same way as other racist language,” he tells Bristol24/7.

“Travellers need to fight for their rights more and more. I think gypsies and travellers are seen as the last vestige of acceptable racism because people think they can get away with it.

“Most travellers grow up with the mindset that anyone outside your community doesn’t like you.”

Larry met his wife, who is from a non-traveller background, when they were both at school and they have been together since the age of 15. “I would not have wanted to meet anyone else,” he says with a grin. The couple have five children and six grandchildren.

Continuing with his own story, Larry says: “I always felt like I wasn’t part of society. I got into a cycle of trouble.”

The chaplain turned his life around in 1999 after his 18-year-old daughter, Joanne, fell seriously ill.

She needed several ground-breaking major neurological operations at the former Frenchay Hospital to relieve pressure on her brain. The family have since raised thousands of pounds for the NHS in Bristol as a thank you.

He and his wife became committed Christians and Larry went to work in Ashfield Young Offenders Institution. Here he met Hilary Field, a former BBC Radio 4 producer and volunteer chaplaincy assistant at Southmead Hospital, who has co-authored the book.

“For a long time, I have wanted to encourage youngsters and others to know that no matter how awful their lives seem now, they can change it from a life of drugs, violence and crime to a life with a purpose and hope, just as mine was changed,” says Larry.

Proud of who he is, Larry is all too aware of the challenges faced by travellers just in trying to get suitable land to stay and says there is a lack of political will to help the situation.

The book is available on Amazon as a hard copy or as a download on Kindle and an audio version is planned.

Read more: Life by the side of the road