ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd nˈaɪntiːn hiː ɛnɹˈoʊld æt jˌuːnɪvˈɜːsᵻɾi kˈɑːlɪdʒ wˈeɪlz, ˌæbɚɹˈɪstwɪθ, wˌɛɹ hiː mˈɛt ðə ɹˈaɪɾɚɹ ˈaɪdwəl dʒˈoʊnz hˌuːz baɪˈɑːɡɹəfi hiː wʌz tə ɹˈaɪt ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd fˈɪfti ˈeɪt.
In 1919 he enrolled at University College Wales, Aberystwyth, where he met the writer Idwal Jones whose biography he was to write in 1958.