Dylan Thomas who was born 100 years ago today felt constantly pulled between Wales and London. He first appeared in Fitzrovia in 1934, seeking out the area’s pubs and its literary scene, and in 1936 he was to meet Caitlin Macnamara who would become his wife.
He twice lived in Fitzrovia: he moved in at 8 Conway Street in 1941 and to 12 Fitzroy Street in 1944.
But his relationship with Fitzrovia and the rest of London was an uneasy one and he constantly felt the need to return to his native Wales. His wife Caitlin remarked: “He needed London for talking and pubbing, but he could only write away from it.”
The past year his life has been celebrated in Wales and last week there was a series of events commemorating Dylan Thomas in Fitzrovia.
Dylan Thomas: born 27Â October 1914 in Swansea, died on 9 November 1953 in New York.