"[3] Alun Lewis, was born on 1 July 1915 at Cwmaman, near Aberdare in the Cynon Valley of the South Wales Coalfields.

His parents, Thomas John and Gwladys Lewis,[4] were school teachers at Llanwern; and he had a younger sister, Mair and two brothers.

After the outbreak of the Second World War Lewis first joined the British Army's Royal Engineers as a Private because he was a pacifist, but still wanted to fight fascism.

[4] Lewis's poems about his war experiences have been described as showing "his brooding over his army experiences and trying to catch and hold some vision that would illuminate its desolation with meaning" (see Ian Hamilton "Alun Lewis Selected Poetry and Prose)[6] Scholars have noted the thematic and formal influence of Edward Thomas on his work—Lewis's poem "To Edward Thomas" is dedicated to the poet.

He was found shot in the head, after shaving and washing, near the officers' latrines, with his revolver in his hand, and died from his wound six hours later.