His uncle John Garstang excited the young Gurney's interest in Hittite studies, then in its infancy, and after a course in Akkadian at Oxford University in 1934-35, he went to the University of Berlin to study Hittite under Hans Ehelolf.
During the Second World War he joined the Royal Artillery, and served with the Sudan Defence Force.
In 1948, he joined the council of management of the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, founded by his uncle, and maintained his links with the Institute for the rest of his life, serving as President from 1982.
Gurney wrote the classic text on The Hittites, published by Penguin in 1952 and in print for many years.
He married Diane Grazebrook in 1957 and had one stepdaughter, Carol Gurney.