Randall Carline Swingler MM (28 May 1909 – 19 June 1967) was an English poet, writing extensively in the 1930s in the communist interest.
His was a prosperous upper middle class Anglican family in Aldershot,[1] with an industrial background in the Midlands and earlier aristocratic roots in Scotland.
[2] In 1945, Corporal Swingler was awarded the Military Medal (MM) "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Italy".
[4] Among several notable pieces, Swingler co-wrote Ballad of Heroes with Britten and the poet W. H. Auden and wrote a new version of the English lyrics of the Polish revolutionary song "Whirlwinds of Danger".
[5] There are settings of his verse by Arnold Cooke, Christian Darnton, Erik Chisholm, Norman Demuth, John Ireland, Elisabeth Lutyens, and Bernard Stevens.
[9] He was also involved in work for the Unity Theatre,[10] and was the literary editor of the Daily Worker, often reviewing books for The Times, The Manchester Guardian, amongst other newspapers.