Lewis John Wynford Vaughan-Thomas (

né A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth reg ...

Thomas) (15 August 1908 – 4 February 1987) was a Welsh newspaper journalist and radio and television broadcaster. In later life he took the name Vaughan-Thomas after his father.

Early life and education

Thomas was born in

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the C ...

, in

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

, the second son of Dr. David Vaughan Thomas, a Professor of Music, and Morfydd Lewis, the daughter of Daniel Lewis who was one of the leaders of the Rebecca Riots in

Pontarddulais Pontarddulais (), also known as Pontardulais (), is both a community and a town in Swansea, Wales. It is northwest of the city centre. The Pontarddulais ward is part of the City and County of Swansea. Pontarddulais adjoins the village of Hend ...

. He attended the

Bishop Gore School The Bishop Gore School ( cy, Ysgol Esgob Gore) is a secondary school in Swansea in Wales, founded on 14 September 1682 by Hugh Gore (1613–1691), Bishop of Waterford and Lismore. It is situated in Sketty, close to Singleton Park and Swans ...

, Swansea, where the English master was the father of

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Und ...

, who was just entering the school at the time that Vaughan-Thomas was leaving for

Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge , rector = Sir Richard Trainor ...

. At Oxford he read modern history and gained a second class

academic degree An academic degree is a qualification awarded to students upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions commonly offer degrees at various levels, usually including und ...

Career

BBC

In the mid-1930s, Vaughan-Thomas joined the BBC and, in 1937, gave the Welsh-language commentary on the

coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The coronation of George VI and his wife, Elizabeth, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and as Emperor and Empress of India took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on Wednesday 12 May ...

. This was the precursor to several English-language commentaries on state occasions he was to give after the Second World War. During the war, he established his name and reputation as one of the BBC's most distinguished war correspondents. His most memorable report was from an RAF

Lancaster bomber The Avro Lancaster is a British World War II, Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the S ...

during a real bombing raid over

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

Berlin. Other notable reports were from the

Battle of Anzio The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign of World War II that took place from January 22, 1944 (beginning with the Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle) to June 5, 1944 (ending with the capture of Rome). The op ...

, the Burgundy vineyards, Lord Haw-Haw's broadcasting studio and the Belsen concentration camp. In 1953, he was one of a team of BBC commentators on the

coronation of Queen Elizabeth II The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive ...

. He commentated on the funeral of his fellow wartime BBC correspondent

Richard Dimbleby Frederick Richard Dimbleby (25 May 1913 – 22 December 1965) was an English journalist and broadcaster, who became the BBC's first war correspondent, and then its leading TV news commentator. As host of the long-running current affairs ...

in 1965.

Harlech Television

In 1967, after leaving the BBC, Vaughan-Thomas was one of the founders of Harlech Television (HTV, now ITV Wales), being appointed director of programmes. As a frequent TV broadcaster himself throughout his early career with the BBC, he had adopted the required BBC accent of the time, but employed his more natural native Welsh accent to even better effect in his later career. In 1985, Vaughan-Thomas notably presented the 13-part series ''

The Dragon Has Two Tongues ''The Dragon Has Two Tongues'' was a 13-part television series, broadcast in the UK in 1985 by HTV and Channel 4. It was about the history of Wales and was presented jointly by Gwyn Alf Williams and Wynford Vaughan-Thomas, and produced by Colin T ...

'' with

Gwyn Alf Williams Gwyn Alfred "Alf" Williams (30 September 1925 – 16 November 1995) was a Welsh historian particularly known for his work on Antonio Gramsci and Francisco Goya as well as on Welsh history. Life Williams was born in the iron town of Dowl ...

. The series saw lengthy and often passionate discussions on Welsh history, with the two presenters representing opposing points of view, Williams being a

Marxist historian Marxist historiography, or historical materialist historiography, is an influential school of historiography. The chief tenets of Marxist historiography include the centrality of social class, social relations of production in class-divided soc ...

and Vaughan-Thomas being described by Geraint H. Jenkins as his "affable

Whiggish Whig history (or Whig historiography) is an approach to historiography that presents history as a journey from an oppressive and benighted past to a "glorious present". The present described is generally one with modern forms of liberal democrac ...

co-presenter".

Writing

Vaughan-Thomas wrote numerous books, many on Wales and a favourite subject of his, the Welsh countryside. His wartime overview and experiences, and his successful broadcasting career later, enabled him to view life and its vagaries with what he called "pointless optimism" — a perspective that served him. His 1961 book ''Anzio'' was adapted as the 1968 Italian-American film ''

Anzio Anzio (, also , ) is a town and '' comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Isl ...

'', about the Battle of Anzio, the Allied seaborne assault on the Italian port of

south of Rome during the Second World War.

Heritage

In May 1970, when president of the Council for the Protection of Rural Wales, Vaughan-Thomas officially opened the

Pembrokeshire Coast Path The Pembrokeshire Coast Path ( cy, Llwybr Arfordir Sir Benfro), often called the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, is a designated National Trail in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales. Established in 1970, it is a long-distance walking route, mostly a ...

in the

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Pembrokeshire Coast National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Arfordir Penfro) is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales. It was established as a National Park in 1952. It is one of three national parks in Wales, the others ...

at its southern end, at Amroth.

Private life

In 1946, Thomas married Charlotte Rowlands.

Honours

He was appointed Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(OBE) in the 1974 Birthday Honours for services to Wales, and promoted Commander (CBE) in the

1986 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supple ...

for services to Welsh culture. He died in

Fishguard Fishguard ( cy, Abergwaun, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,419 in 2011; the community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5,407. Modern Fishguard consists of two p ...

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a county in the south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The county is home to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Park oc ...

, on 4 February 1987, aged 78.

Memorial

A memorial was constructed after his death, completed and unveiled in 1990 at Cadair viewpoint, near Aberhosan (at ), in the form of a

toposcope A toposcope, topograph, or orientation table is a kind of graphic display erected at viewing points on hills, mountains or other high places which indicates the direction, and usually the distance, to notable landscape features which can be seen f ...

looking out over the rolling hills and mountains of Wales, with a depiction of Vaughan-Thomas pointing towards

Snowdon Snowdon () or (), is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands. It is located in Snowdonia National Park (') in Gwynedd (histori ...

, Wales' highest peak, which is just visible on a clear day. ''Across the hills towards Yr Wyddfa and the Snowdonia National Park''

Works

* ''Anzio'' (1961) * ''Madly in All Directions'' (1967) * ''The Shell Guide to Wales'' (1969, with Alun Llewellyn) * ''Portrait of Gower'' (1976) * ''Great Little Trains Of Wales'' (1976) * ''Trust to Talk'' (1980) * ''Wynford Vaughan-Thomas's Wales'' (1981) * ''Princes of Wales'' (1982) * ''The Countryside Companion'' (1983) * ''Dalgety'' (1984) * ''Wales: a History'' (1985) * ''How I Liberated Burgundy: And Other Vinous Adventures'' (1985)

References

External links

*
BBC Wales History

BBC Cymru

Thames Television Interview from 1972

Wynford Vaughan-Thomas Papers
at the

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales ( cy, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughan-Thomas, Wynford 1908 births 1987 deaths Welsh-language television presenters Welsh-speaking journalists British male journalists People from Swansea People educated at Bishop Gore School Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Welsh journalists Welsh radio presenters Welsh television presenters BBC newsreaders and journalists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century British writers 20th-century British male writers