kɑːnskɹˈɪptᵻd ˌɪntʊ ðɪ ˈɑːɹmi ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɛvəntˌiːn dˈʊɹɹɪŋ wˈɜːld wˈɔːɹ ˈaɪ, hiː dᵻklˈɛɹd hɪmsˈɛlf ɐ kˌɑːnsɪˈɛnʃəs ɑːbdʒˈɛktɚ ænd wʌz ɪmpɹˈɪzənd æt wˈɜːmwʊd skɹˈʌbz bᵻfˌoːɹ bˌiːɪŋ tɹænsfˈɜːd tə pɹˈɪnstaʊn wˈɜːk sˈɛntɚɹ ɪnðə fˈɔːɹmɚ dˈɑːɹtmoːɹ pɹˈɪzən ʌntˈɪl ˈeɪpɹəl nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd nˈaɪntiːn, ɐn ɛkspˈiəɹɪəns hiː ɹˈoʊt ɐbˌaʊt ɪn hɪz nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd θˈɜːɾi fˈoːɹ nˈɑːvəl plˈæsɔːɚ bɹˈɛnɪn.
Conscripted into the Army in 1917 during World War I, he declared himself a conscientious objector and was imprisoned at Wormwood Scrubs before being transferred to Princetown Work Centre in the former Dartmoor Prison until April 1919, an experience he wrote about in his 1934 novel Plasau'r Brenin.