Dylan Thomas

A memorial stone to Welsh poet Dylan Thomas was unveiled in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey on 1st March 1982. It lies between memorials to Lord Byron and George Eliot and is made of green Penrhyn stone, sculpted by Jonah Jones. The inscription, with a quote from his poem Fern Hill, reads:

DYLAN THOMAS
27 October 1914
9 November 1953
Time held me green and dying
Though I sang in my chains like the sea
Buried at Laugharne

Dylan Marlais Thomas was born in Swansea, south Wales, the son of a schoolmaster. He wrote poetry while still at school and later worked as a journalist before moving to London. In 1934 his first volume of verse was published and he married Caitlin Macnamara in 1937. They had two sons and a daughter. Collected Poems was published in 1952 and among his many works the voice play Under Milk Wood is one of his best known. He died in New York, his death hastened by heavy drinking, and he was buried in the churchyard of St Martin's, Laugharne in Wales, where he had lived and worked for many years.

Further reading

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004

DVD: Dylan Thomas. The War Films Anthology

The Unveiling and Dedication of a Memorial to Dylan Thomas, 1st March 1982 (PDF, 575 KB)

Discover Dylan Thomas