David Hurn, who was born in Redhill of Welsh decent, went to nursery school in Wales, but, for various reasons to do with his father being in the army, went to live in England from being around 6 years old. He didn’t come back to live in Wales until 1970, returning with the initial idea of staying for a year, but never leaving. He has lived there ever since. “I realized very quickly it was far less expensive than in London, and I could function in Wales, and work, and I bought a cottage there.”

However, the series of events that set in motion his move to Wales had begun much earlier. One of the major catalysts was Hurn’s coverage of the Aberfan disaster, a mining catastrophe that saw a coal tip slide down a hill on to a school, killing 116 children and 28 adults. Hurn, along with fellow Magnum photographer Ian Berry, was quickly on the scene photographing as local people worked through the night to dig out their children. It was a harrowing scene for any photojournalist, but for Hurn, it hit particularly close to home.