Cassette tape produced by the Dylan Thomas Society, Wales Branch, entitled “Dylan Thomas Remembered”. Side 1 consists of reminiscences by Elis Jenkins, Armel Diverres, Wynford Vaughan-Thomas, Evelyn Burman-Jones, Doreen Allen, Ruby Graham, John Griffiths, Daniel Jones, Pamela Hansford-Johnson, Gwen Watkins, Ethel Ross and Aeronwy Thomas Ellis. Side two consists of extracts read from the works of Dylan Thomas.

  • This material is held at
  • Reference
      GB 216 T 23
  • Dates of Creation
      n.d., late 1980s
  • Language of Material
      English
  • Physical Description
      1 cassette tape; also digital version in MP3 format

Scope and Content

[00:04:15] Person of Interest: Dylan Thomas, Swansea Grammar School, 1925. [00:04:21] Education: School magazine. [00:04:26] Location of Interest: Cwmdonkin Park . [00:04:43] Person of Interest: Ellis Jenkins, Armel Dyferis, Wynford Vaughan Thomas. [00:05:24] Person of Interest: Dylan Thomas' father (DJ), 60 years ago, English teacher, Swansea Grammar School. [00:00:01] Education: Sent to grammar school after graduating for teacher training, Dylan Thomas' father refused him in his lessons. [00:00:08] Person of Interest: Assistant, J M Williams. [00:00:10] Person of Interest: Encountered Dylan Thomas, Class 3a. [00:00:13] Person of Interest: Dylan Thomas, quiet in class. [00:00:20] Education: Dylan Thomas kept his head down in class. [00:01:05] Relocation: Came to Swansea Sept 1925. [00:01:21] Education: First year pupil, Swansea Grammar School at the same time as Dylan Thomas. [00:01:34] Residence: Lived in Cwmdonkin Terrace, 100 yards from Dylan's House - regularly walked to school. [00:01:54] Attire: Dylan Thomas - tidily dressed. [00:02:03] Entertainment: Dylan exchanged books with him - Albert Stevenson? William Mcgen/Richmore Compton?. [00:02:16] Event: June 1926, Swansea Regatta, Dylan borrowed a bicycle and went to Mumbles. [00:02:20] Accident: Derwen Fawr, Dylan Thomas knocked down by a bus. [00:02:25] Accident: Bus ran over Dylan Thomas's wrist - taken to Swansea Hospital - emergency operation. [00:02:36] Home life: Family upset - feared for his life - discipline decreased. [00:02:40] Location of Interest: Cwmdonkin Park was close, Walter's Road - Dylan Thomas could see the park from his window. [00:03:06] Council: Swansea parks committee - Cwmdonkin tennis parks, bowling greens. [00:03:23] Location of Interest: Cwdonkin Park fountain, band stand - themes in Dylan Thomas's work. [00:03:28] Experience: Walking a lady around the reservoir. [00:03:51] Person of Interest: Dylan Thomas, mischievous youngster. [00:04:15] Person of Interest: Dylan Thomas's father used to walk in the park - debating philosophy with senior. [00:04:28] Entertainment: Bushes, and red Indians. [00:04:49] Location of Interest: Park changes - reservoir drained, band stand gone. [00:05:07] Location of Interest: Memorial to Dylan; Dylan Thomas shelter, Cwmdonkin Park. [00:05:20] Entertainment: Swansea Grammar School, Little Theatre, BBC - developed Dylan THomas's work. [00:05:36] Person of Interest: Evelyn Bermon Jones?, Dorian Allan, Ruby Graham, John Griffiths. [00:05:43] Location of Interest: Dame school, Uplands, Mrs Howell's Private school, Mirador Crescent . [00:05:58] Education: First open planned, disciplined school - passed entrance exam to go to grammar school and high school. [00:06:06] Education: "3 Rs" - lesson called Recitation . [00:06:19] Education: Dylan Thomas hated recitation lesson most of all - he was teacher's pet. [00:06:30] Education: Dylan Thomas would say "I can't stand it" and get away with no punishment - they were allowed to recite he poem of their choice after that [recites poem]. [00:06:38] Education: Dylan Thomas - My Grave Poem [recites poem] - Shakespeare's lines for Richard II. [00:06:46] Person of Interest: Dylan Thomas was 7 years old - familiar with Shakespeare. [00:06:56] Acting: Dylan Thomas always said he wanted to be an actor. [00:07:08] Acting: Seeing Dylan Thomas play the lead in Oliver Cromwell for the Grammar School - standing ovation. [00:07:16] Location of Interest: Little Theatre play - translation from the French, Martine?. [00:07:40] Acting: Dylan Thomas was perfect person for part he was playing. [00:08:12] Acting: Dylan Thomas disappeared during dress rehearsals - so someone else [Malcolm?] took his part. [00:08:20] Person of Interest: Saturday morning, 30 years ago, Dylan Thomas rang up Daniel Jones, Aeronwy, and a few others - developed into a party. [00:08:28] Experience: Gramophone, piano - talking about jazz. [00:08:42] Experience: Dylan Thomas asking about a favourite poet other than him - joke between them as her husband Malcolm liked Dylan Thomas's work. [00:08:50] Experience: Told Dylan Thomas her favourite poem is My Last Duchess by Browning. [00:08:58] Entertainment: Daniel playing the piano. [00:09:39] Experience: Dylan Thomas was sat on the couch reading Browning's work out loud - everyone at the party stopped what they were doing. [00:10:04] Person of Interest: Hypnotic quality of Dylan's voice. [00:10:37] Experience: [Reciting last lines of poem]. [00:10:52] Experience: Whole room applauded Dylan - then he rolled on to the floor. [00:11:11] Entertainment: 1949, Radio program, Swansea and the arts - BBC - Dylan and his friends took part. [00:11:32] Person of Interest: Vernon Watkins, Daniel Jones, Alfred James, John Pritchard. [00:12:04] Person of Interest: Vernon Watkins. [00:12:11] Entertainment: Wanted to do the radio program as a conversation piece but Dylan had different ideas. [00:12:28] Experience: Dylan's attitude towards Swansea. [00:12:39] Location of Interest: The Westbourne, having a beer. [00:12:37] Experience: Dylan was keen to meet the new born infant . [00:13:15] Career: Dylan wanted to be a poet. [00:13:37] Person of Interest: Daniel Jones, book - My Friend Dylan Thomas, Pamerla Hanson Johnson, Gwen Watkins (Vernon Watkins' wife). [00:13:55] Experience: Dylan made it a strict rule that they were not to criticise the other poetry contribution . [00:14:11] Person of Interest: Pen name; Walter Bram - name borrowed from Bram Stoker, Dracula. [00:14:27] Person of Interest: Bram Stoker's poems; Voiceless Frolick. [00:14:44] Person of Interest: [Reciting Bram Stoker's poetry]. [00:14:50] Person of Interest: Bram Stoker's poetry [Recites]. [00:15:08] Friendship: Literary relationship with Dylan outside their collaborations - read Daniel his poems before/after completion. [00:15:34] Friendship: Read poems in Swansea, Laugharn, London, Oxford - whenever Daniel and Dylan were together. [00:15:44] Event: Oct 1953, Dylan stayed in Swansea with Daniel before going to London & United States. [00:16:16] Experience: Dylan read long passages of Under Milkwood to Daniel - spoke of his plans for the evening sequence. [00:16:30] Experience: Ballad of Bessie Big Head?. [00:17:23] Person of Interest: Pamela Hanson Johnson - poet's corner - composition every week for the best poet. [00:17:50] Experience: Dylan sent his poem into the poet's corner. [00:17:59] Experience: Dylan to win second prize for the book prize. [00:18:11] Friendship: Friends for about a year - met his family - knew DJ and Mrs Thomas. [00:18:33] Poetry: Dylan's later poems - Townhill?, Hand that ruled the city - getting better with age. [00:18:44] Person of Interest: Vernon Watkins and Dylan first met April 1935 - a few months after 18 poems had been published. [00:19:02] Location of Interest: Vernon read his own poems to Dylan - met in Cwmdonkin Drive. [00:19:16] Poetry: First poem Dylan read Vernon - Ears in the Turret and ended with Owls???/Halfway house. [00:19:37] Poetry: On rose and icicle, the ringing handprint - Vernon's experience of Dylan reading. [00:19:49] Friendship: Until end of war - saw each other often. [00:20:28] Location of Interest: Dylan came to Swansea for broadcasts and cricket matches - Laugharn. [00:20:37] Communications: Deaths and entrances, and in country heaven - radio. [00:20:50] Friendship: Vernon and Dylan didn't meet as often. [00:21:20] Deceased: Dylan's death overwhelmed Vernon - Vernon's own poems/elegy's to Dylan - defending his memory. [00:21:34] Person of Interest: Memorial to Vernon - remember him talking about Dylan. [00:21:38] Poetry: Reciting Vernon's poetry. [00:21:48] Person of Interest: Ethel Ross. [00:22:06] Person of Interest: Dylan's daughter, Aeronwy. [00:22:16] Location of Interest: Remember Dylan at The Little Theatre. [00:23:06] Acting: Dylan's performance in Bostratagm?. [00:23:14] Person of Interest: Sir William Jenkins. [00:23:29] Location of Interest: Meeting at Blackpill - view of Swansea Bay across to Port Talbot. [00:23:34] Transport: Got off the Pennard bus. [00:23:40] Experience: Dylan taking his new bride to his parents' home at Pyle Corner. [00:23:53] Location of Interest: Often saw Dylan at Laugharn. [00:24:01] Location of Interest: Brother in law - Alfred James - always looked into Browns to see if Dylan was there. [00:24:11] Experience: Crossed to the Pelican to see Mrs Thomas bedridden with a fractured hip. [00:24:24] Experience: Eirion excited about the picnic. [00:24:42] Person of Interest: Gower at the Garth - Vernon, Gwen and Children - picnic, cricket - last saw Dylan on his way back to Laugharn from America. [00:24:50] Attire: American clothes - low waist trousers, short drop dry button through shirt . [00:24:52] Attire: Caitlin, patterned skirt. [00:25:00] Person of Interest: Caitlin running to put her arms around Dylan as he went to bat in cricket. [00:25:09] Person of Interest: Caitlin photographed with Dan and the tinbath. [00:25:25] Experience: Dylan spoke of McCarthyism despairingly . [00:25:38] Experience: Luminal? - gives lovely dreams. [00:25:48] Friendship: Gwen & Vernon, Dylan and Caitlin, Dan, Fred, Mary - Pennard. [00:25:54] Experience: Recollecting memory of Eronri being born during an air raid - Manwesa Road? London. [00:26:07] Family: Memory of Laugharn - two brother, Llewellyn and Colin. [00:26:11] Family: Her mother was the mother and father. [00:26:28] Family: Her father was the fourth child - her mother organised his day, washed him. [00:26:40] Family: Mother organised Dylan's work day. [00:26:56] Entertainment: Dylan was allowed to read whatever in the morning - usually detective novels. [00:27:45] Entertainment: Went off together to the pub. [00:27:55] Career: Sacred time between 2pm and 6pm where Dylan had to work on his poetry. [00:28:04] Career: Dylan's wife would send him off to his shed organised for his writing - 5 minute cliff walk from the house. [00:28:21] Childhood: Dylan's children had strict instructions from their mother not to make noise near Dylan's shed. [00:28:25] Childhood: Organising a tribe of Indians with the village children, and their dog Madley, passed on their bikes ringing bells - punishment from their mother was a beating with a brush for making noise near the shed.