Vaughan, E. Mne.

Personal Information

Eric Vaughan was born at Bryn Mor Cottage in Bodelwyddan, son to proud parents John and Marion and big brother to his sister Iris. Growing up in Bodelwyddan, whilst Eric was still at school, he began working in the local village shop. He left school at 14 and began working for E.B. Jones delivering groceries.

In 1942, when he was 19, Eric volunteered for the Royal Marines. He was offered Landing Craft but decided he didn’t want to spend all his time at sea and so volunteered for Commando training. In July ’43, assigned to 41 Commando, he sailed out from Liverpool to North Africa where he was involved in the battles to push the Germans and Italians out, which they did, then following them over to Sicily to do the same, before being called backed to Britain in May’ 44 to prepare for the landings in Normandy.

Eric landed in Normandy on D-Day+14, driving a 3-ton truck. Landing on a deserted beach, with no one to guide them and not knowing where to go, Eric and another driver parked up in a field and put camouflage over their vehicles to spend what was a very scary night. Fortunately they met up with their troop the following day.

At some time, he was assigned to 47 RM Commando and was with them when they liberated Fécamp on the 2nd September 1944. He then continued pursuing the Germans back through France, to Belgium and on into Holland. He made it into Germany at the wars end and was eventually demobbed in 1946.

Upon returning home, Eric began working as a civilian for the Ministry of Defence at the Kinmel Camp. His first role was supervising German prisoners of war, dismantling the concrete beach defences from Talacre to Llanduddno. He worked at the camp for 28 years, until it closed in 1975. He then started work at the Egatube (electrical conduit) factory at St Asaph; working there for 11 years until he retired when he was 64.