Home Page   Family History    Vaughan Family Start   28 March 2007

Because of the families link with the Salvation Army, Tommy played the cornet. With a hobby of long distance running it is not surprisingly, he didn’t stay long in his first job, working in a mine office. 

Whilst still only 14, Tommy applied to join the Royal Scots Greys as a regular soldier . After giving his age as 14, the recruitment sergeant carefully repeated "How old are you?" Tom immediately changed his answer to "Fifteen" and signed up.  According to his son, Nigel, Tom's reasons for enlistment were a mixture of involvement with horses and the reputation the Grey’s had for providing good food!

The medals Tommy received and the information he gave his sons support all but the battles in Normandy and Burma.  With respect to the French and German star, Tommy was considered unfit for  because he was deaf in one ear!.

 In 1941, half the regiment fought in the Syrian campaign as lorry'd infantry and the Greys ceased to be "Cavalry of the Line" and joined the Royal Armoured Corps.

founded in 1940 by Avraham Stern (1907–42).  Fanatically anti-British, the group repeatedly attacked British personnel in Palestine and even invited aid from the Axis powers.  The British police retaliated by killing Stern in his apartment in February 1942.  After Stern died in a shoot-out with British police in 1942, his mantle was picked up by future Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Shamir. The Stern Gang focused on the British as the greatest of all evils, and on November 6, 1944, Lord Moyne, the British minister for Middle East affairs, was assassinated in Cairo by two members of the Lehi, who were later arrested, convicted, and hanged. After the state of Israel was established, the Lehi, displeased with what it considered the too pro-Arab views of the Swedish UN-appointed mediator for Palestine, assassinated him; on September 17, 1948, Count Folke Bernadotte who, as a neutral diplomat in World War II, had saved thousands of Jews from Nazi death camps was shot and killed by Lehi assassins, along with French colonel Andre Serot, the senior UN military observer, whose wife's life had been saved by Bernadotte. http://www.rense.com/general18/fromtheIrvRubin.htm

The Greys took a leading part in the fighting at Alamein and throughout the 1,500 miles to Tripoli, which they captured with the New Zealand Division.The above stories, however embroidered, typify Tom.  He was, according to his son Nigel, promoted to Sergeant several times - a rank necessary for his work - but each time he would be demoted for ‘disciplinary’ reasons. Oddly, enough though one of the fittest men in his regiment he was considered too unfit, because of deafness in one ear, to take part in the Allied landings in Normandy/Italy?. Apparently when his commanding officer was told that Tommy and two colleagues had been classified as unfit (one who went with him, the regimental boxing champion had - flat feet) the CO commented that if Tommy and the others were unfit then so too were every one else!  

 After serving in the Italian campaign, the regiment took part in severe fighting in Normandy and in the pursuit of the enemy across France and the Low Countries into Germany. On 2nd May, 1945, when the port of Wismar on the Baltic was captured, the Greys were the first British troops to meet the Russians.

At the end of the war, as a regular soldier, Tommy spent 14 months in Norway.

For an brief history of WWII,  ignoring Burma, select:  Royal Scots Greys 

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Tom and Stella married on January 10th 1945 using a 24 hr. license and honeymooned in Scotland. Sadly because his best man couldn’t get there the job was taken on by a female friend - Jacqi. [The reason why they had to go to Scotland was so that Tom could tell Ina, his best friend’s sister (Robert Donaldson), that he couldn’t now marry her].
 

For a short time he worked at Pilkington’s glass company as a boilerman (Tom probably obtained the job

the family lived in a range of accommodation including a converted Nissan Hut at Ully and Nannies House in Kirk Sandall, in the third floor of an apartment house when Terry was expected and finally @ Hatfield.

The three photographs below were all taken in the garden at Nannies (Stella’s mother’s) house.

Tom’s daughters remember that one day their father arrived at their Hatfield primary school with Terry (!) and a party of prisoners to repair a brick wall for them.

The family regularly owned a dog, but it was not allowed in the house. Darkie’s kennel can be seen behind Stella in the garden. Whilst the family were living at Dartmoor Tom bought a knitting machine and made cardigans for the children. Nigel, Stella and Tom's youngest child, was born in 1955. Below:  Anita, Stephenie and Terry: The two photographs on the right probably having been taken at Dartmoor.

With all the earlier moves, the family lived in ‘quarters’. Initially Tom worked at both Prisons and Borstals (young offenders institutes) and adult prisons, but as Anita and Stephenie grew older, he decided to only work in the latter. Only at the last prison did Tom and Stella buy their own house - buying it from Tom’s brother Bob.

When the family moved to the island (IoW), Tom joined the Freemasons. The photograph below at BlackGang Chine must have been taken in about 1956, it shows Stella holding Nigel standing behind Anita, Stephenie and Terry.

Inevitably Tom knew a number of well known prisoners - Mad Mitchell the axe man who the Kray twins helped to escape (they also subsequently arranged his murder); Klaus Fuchs, the spy; Alfie Hinds.... For information on these prisoners, click on their names.

Photo: Stephenie at Ventnor, the pictures of Anita, Nigel and Terry were both taken at the same time.

As the children became older holidays changed from primarily visiting relatives to spending days on the beach and later package holidays abroad and camping. The older couple top-right are Nannie and her husband at the Isle of Wight.

Anita married Les in 1965. A year later their first child was  born in Hong Kong.   Stephenie, on the right, married Graham in 1968

In the early 70’s, Tom and Stella bought a house at Freckleton from Tom’s brother Bob -. By that time Tom had risen in rank and had become Senior Foreman of Works.

Christmas at Freckleton: From the left: Stella, Terry, Stephenie, Nigel and Tom

Terry married Deborah whilst at University. In the photograph Terry and Debbie are with Stephenie and her husband Graham In 1974 Stella went to the USA to help her mother, Lily, who was ill. Tom who was by this time a Senior Foreman of Works in the Prison Service moved alone to Wandsworth prison, in London before retiring in January 1974. Soon after she returned Thomas and Stella’s marriage broke up in 1975.  Stella tried to emigrate to America - but, sadly couldn’t prove she was Lily’s

daughter and obtain a permanent visa.

Initially Stella moved between her three eldest children, but stayed longest with Stephenie.  Living first with Stephenie's family at East Leake and moving with them to Wellingborough.  In Wellingborough, Stella found work as a nursing auxiliary.  She rented accommodation at 19 Sassoon Close and started going to the local ‘Solo’ club.  At the club she met Richard Holloway, married him on 20th November 1982 and lived with him at Bedford. 

Tom married Eileen on May 19th 1979 and lived initially @ 106 Cody Rd., Farnborough.

On the 16th February 1980 Nigel who, by this time, was working at NatWest bank married Lorraine. HosgoodThey subsequently had two children Peter (1988) and Andrea (1992).

Stella died of cancer at Bedford on the 1st November 1990, aged 69.

Tom   died at Blackpool in 2003.