Ewan MacColl deserted in 1943, apparently out of fear, and was never charged. The police tried to track him down, but he wasn't seen again until after the war. 
MacColl was a playwright and folk singer who wrote songs such as Dirty Old Town and The Manchester Rambler. He began his career as a radio actor in the 1930s, and his early reputation was based on the songs he wrote for his plays. For example, Dirty Old Town was written to hide a scene change in his 1949 play, Landscape With Chimneys.
MacColl left Theatre Workshop in 1953 to focus on folk singing after the company decided to move to London. He continued to write drama for the radio, and became a protest singer.
