File B2/24. - Wynford Vaughan Thomas,

Identity area

Reference code

B2/24.

Title

Wynford Vaughan Thomas,

Date(s)

  • [1954x1987]. (Creation)

Level of description

File

Extent and medium

1 folder ; 0.5 cm.

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Wynford Vaughan-Thomas, CBE (1908-1987) (full name Lewis John Wynford Vaughan-Thomas), from Swansea, Glamorgan, was a broadcaster and author. His father was the composer David Vaughan Thomas (1873-1934). He was educated in Swansea and at Exeter College Oxford. He joined the BBC in London in 1937, and became a war correspondent, covering the Anzio landings in North Italy, 1943, and campaigns in France and Germany in 1944-1945. In 1944, he reported the discovery of Botticelli's 'Primavera' in Castello Montegufoni, Italy, and after the capture of Hamburg, he collected papers belonging to William Joyce ('Lord Haw Haw') from the radio station there. After the War, he worked as a radio and television broadcaster, acting as BBC correspondent covering Royal tours to South Africa, 1947, and the Commonwealth, 1954, and also reporting on Indian independence, 1947, the Middle East, 1956, Europe and Africa, 1956-1964, and as a radio commentator on state occasions, 1950-1956. In 1958, he was one of the founders of the TWW commercial television company; he later worked as Director of Programmes at HTV, TWW's successor. He was a keen traveller, bon viveur, journalist and author, writing on his war experiences and the history and landscape of Wales, and also writing radio and TV scripts. His published works include Anzio (1962), Madly in all directions (1967), (with Alun Llewellyn) Shell Guide to Wales (1969), Portrait of Gower (1975), and an autobiography, Trust to talk (1980). He was also a literary executor of the estate of Dylan Thomas, President of the Council for the Preservation of Rural Wales, and a governor of the British Film Institute, and a member of the Saintsbury Club. In 1946, he married Charlotte, née Rowlands; they lived in Fishguard, Pembrokeshire. He was awarded the OBE in 1974 and the CBE in 1986; he died in 1987.

Name of creator

Biographical history

Colin Edwards (d. 1994), radio journalist, was of Welsh descent, and lived in Gorseinon, Glamorgan. He began work on a book, `Dylan Remembered' about the life of Dylan Thomas (1914-1953), recording interviews with individuals including Philip Burton, Pennar Davies, Gwynfor Evans, Glyn Jones, Vernon Watkins, and Florence Thomas, mother of Dylan Thomas. The book was never completed, although there are drafts of some chapters.

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Scope and content

Undated reminiscences, [1954x1987], about Dylan Thomas by Wynford Vaughan Thomas, comprising two incomplete manuscripts, 'Dylan after death', (1 f.), and untitled, (2 pp.), and two typescript copies entitled 'Dylan Thomas', (2 ff.), and 'My private Dylan', (3 pp.); together with a letter, 1963, from Colin D. Edwards, regarding his intention to record the recollections of Dylan Thomas's friends, and a reply by Wynford Vaughan Thomas.

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Conditions governing access

Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to abide by the conditions set out in information provided when applying for their Readers' Tickets, whereby the reader shall become responsible for compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998 in relation to any processing by them of personal data obtained from modern records held at the Library.

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Note

Preferred citation: B2/24.

Alternative identifier(s)

Virtua system control number

vtls006299089

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Description identifier

Institution identifier

Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru = The National Library of Wales

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  • Text: B2/24 (Box 23).