Lt. Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the army, armies, most Marine (armed services), marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use t ...

Arthur Owen Vaughan, (6 September 1863 – 15 October 1919), also known by his

bardic name A bardic name (, ) is a pseudonym used in Wales, Cornwall, or Brittany by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement. The Welsh term bardd ("poet") originally referred to the Welsh poets of the Middle Ages, who m ...

Owen Rhoscomyl, was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-born writer, soldier and

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

nationalist. Born as Robert Scowfield Mills in England, Owen Rhoscomyl was influenced by his Welsh grandmother and became a notable patriot to Wales and its history.

Early life

Vaughan was born in

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

, but moved to

Droylsden Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester city centre and west of Ashton-under-Lyne, with a population at the 2011 Census of 22,689. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, in the ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

where he was raised. As a child, Vaughan was highly influenced by his maternal grandmother, who was born in

Tremeirchion Tremeirchion (previously known as ''Lleweni'') is a small residential community in Denbighshire, Wales. It lies on the B5429 road, to the north east of Denbigh and to the east of St Asaph. The community includes the village of Rhuallt. The tow ...

in North Wales. At the age of 15 he ran away from home and went to sea, travelling to America. There he became a

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

and found work in mining camps before returning to Britain.

Military career

In 1887 he joined the 1st (Royal) Dragoons. He left the Royal Dragoons in 1890 but served again in the British Army in the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

of 1899–1902. Vaughan served in several horse troops, mainlyA. L. von Zeil, ''Battle Scars and Dragon Tracks'' 2010 in

Rimington's Guides Rimington's Guides (also known as Rimington's Tigers or Rimington's Corps of Guides and then later as Damant's Horse) were a unit of light horse in the British Army active in the Second Boer War. They were led by Major M. F. (Mike) Rimington, lat ...

and their successor unit Damant's Horse. While in this unit, Sergeant Vaughan was mentioned for bravery under fire and awarded the DCM. In October 1901 he joined Ross's Canadian Scouts, an anti-

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outfit previously led by

Arthur L. Howard Arthur L. "Gat" Howard DSO (1846 – February 17, 1901), was an American and Canadian expert in the use of the early machine gun. He is best known for his use of a Gatling gun in support of the Canadian militia in the North-West Rebellion ...

, in which Vaughan reached the rank of captain. When the First World War broke out in August 1914, Vaughan was prominent in recruiting a new regiment in South Wales, the

Welsh Horse Yeomanry The Welsh Horse Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army that served in the First World War. The regiment was raised shortly after the outbreak of the war. Initially it served in East Anglia on anti-invasion duties, before being dis ...

, hoping - in vain, as it turned out - to be given command. Temporary Lt.-Col. Vaughan of the Labour Corps was awarded the DSO in the

1919 New Year Honours The 1919 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Jan ...

Literary career and later life

Grave of Arthur Owen Vaughan DSO, DCM, OBE

While in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, Vaughan met and married Katharina Louisa (Katherine Lois) Geere secretly on the banks of the

Vaal River The Vaal River ( ; Khoemana: ) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about north of Ermelo and only about from the Indian Ocean. ...

near

Parys Parys (pronounced ) is a town situated on the banks of the Vaal River in the Free State province of South Africa. The name of the town is the Afrikaans translation of Paris. The name was given by a German surveyor named Schilbach who had partic ...

in December 1901. On his return to Britain in 1902, Vaughan set out to promote Wales and in 1905 he completed his most famous work ''Flame-Bearers of Welsh History: Being the outline of the Sons of Cunedda'', which looked at the contribution of the Welsh to the growth of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

. In 1906 he wrote the novel ''Old Fireproof'', followed by ''Vronina'' (1906) and ''Lone Tree Lode'' (1913). He was a member of

Legion of Frontiersmen The Legion of Frontiersmen is a civilian organisation formed in Britain in 1905 by Roger Pocock, a former constable with the North-West Mounted Police and Boer War veteran. Prompted by fears of an impending invasion of Britain and the Empire, th ...

. In 1909 Vaughan scripted the National Pageant of Wales, held at

Cardiff Castle Cardiff Castle ( cy, Castell Caerdydd) is a medieval castle and Victorian Gothic revival mansion located in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. The original motte and bailey castle was built in the late 11th century by Norman invaders on top ...

. In 1911 he scripted the National Pageant at the Investiture of the Prince of Wales in

Carnarvon Castle Caernarfon Castle ( cy, Castell Caernarfon ) – often anglicised as Carnarvon Castle or Caernarvon Castle – is a medieval fortress in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, north-west Wales cared for by Cadw, the Welsh Government's historic environ ...

. He and Katherine had four children. Katherine died in 1927, while Vaughan died in 1919. A fund was raised to provide a memorial for his grave in honour of his Welsh patriotism in St Thomas' Church,

Rhyl Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community (Wales), community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Flintshire (historic), Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at ...

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

. Two headstones mark his grave: an

Imperial War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

headstone under the name, Lt Col A. O. Vaughan, with the badge of the

King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somerset and Cornwall ...

and a

Celtic cross The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses er ...

honouring his achievements for the Welsh under his bardic name Owen Roscomyl.

Works

Flame-bearers of Welsh History Owen Rhoscomyl 00

* ''The Jewel of Ynys Galon'' (1895) * ''Battlement and Tower'' (1896) * ''The White Rose of Arno'' (1897) * ''The Shrouded face'' (1898) * ''Y Rhosin Du'' (1899) * ''The Lady of Castell March'' (1902) * ''Old Hendrik's Tales'' (1904) co-authored with C. L. Vaughan * ''Flame-Bearers of Welsh History: Being the outline of the Sons of Cunedda'' (1905) * ''Sweet Rogues'' (1907) * ''Dewi Saint'' (1907) * ''Old Fireproof'' (1906) * ''Vronina'' (1907) * ''Isle Raven'' (1908) * ''A Scout's Story'' (1908) * ''Ou Hendrik se Stories'' (1908) translated into Dutch * ''Lone Tree Lode'' (1913) * ''The Matter of Wales'' (1913) * ''Numerous short stories'' (1904-1909)

References

''The National Library of Welsh Biography''

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughan, Arthur Owen 1863 births 1919 deaths English writers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Welsh nationalists Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Officers of the Order of the British Empire