Dylan Thomas's passport

[Dawie]

The National Library of Wales has made public a copy of author Dylan Thomas's passport issued in 1947.

http://canmlwyddiant.llgc.org.uk/en/XCM ... p/2/3.html

It's very interesting to notice the differences from today's passports, as well as the entry requirements for countries in those days.

Note the entry visa stamped by the Italian consulate in order for a British citizen to travel to Italy, almost unthinkable today. Note also the entry stamps for France, the visa stamp for the USA.

What I also found very interesting is that the passport had to be explicitly approved for travel to certain countries. You can see that as Dylan Thomas wanted to travel to more countries, he had to get permission from the Foreign Office in order to enable his passport to be used.

[Mr Rusty]

Very interesting!
Contrary to one's image of the old boy spending the whole of his life falling off a bar stool in South Wales, he actually got about a bit. He must have spent quite a while in Italy, as he registered with the British consul in Florence, as well as his trips to Canada and the USA, and he even went to Tehran.
The other thing that struck a cord with me was the Currency page at the back, as I recall entering my £10 spending money in my first passport for the school trip to Venice when I was 14.

For anyone who's interested in that sort of thing, there's a fascinating display of passports in the museum on Ellis Island, New York.

[vinny]

The National Archives of the United Kingdom also contains some earlier passport records.