Educated at Sherborne and R.M.C. Sandhurst, he was commissioned in to the 1st Battalion The Worcestershire Regiment in 1931 at Crownhill Barracks, Plymouth and served with the Battalion in that station and at Aldershot until 1936 under the command of Lieut.-Colonels J. F. Leman and S. A. Gabb.
He preferred to be called 'Peter' by his friends and colleagues.
From 1937 to 1939 he was adjutant of The Regimental Depot at Worcester under the command of Majors E. L. G. Lawrence and R. H. Melville Lee.
In 1939 he transferred to the Welsh Guards with whom he served until 1942 when he was seconded to The Royal West African Frontier Force initially as a company commander in the 7th Nigeria Regiment, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel A. H. Gillmore of The Worcestershire Regiment, and in Brigadier H. U. Richards' Brigade. Later in Burma when Colonel Gillmore was in command of the Brigade, Peter took over the Battalion and commanded it in General Orde Wingate's Second Chindit Campaign in Burma. He was wounded in June 1944 and was awarded the D.S.O. for gallant and distinguished service while in command in Burma.
He transferred back into The Worcestershire Regiment in 1946. After a tour of duty on the staff at Headquarters, B.A.O.R., he went to the Staff College in 1947. On conclusion of his course there he returned to H.Q. B.A.O.R. as D.A.Q.M.G. for a two year tour.
Lieut.-Colonel C. P. Vaughan, DSO
He left the Battalion on appointment in July 1951 as Deputy Commandant (G.S.O. 1) of The Royal Hong Kong Defence Force in the rank of Lieut.-Colonel. He arrived at the Colony just in time to be confronted with all the problems resulting from the introduction of the Compulsory Service Ordinance and involving the reorganisation of the Headquarters of the Force.
He was also much involved in the Colony's Coronation Celebrations in May 1953, but his tour of duty ended shortly afterwards and he left Hong Kong on 31st July that year en route for the U.K. and command of the 1st Battalion in succession to Lieut.-Colonel (later Brigadier) P. H. Graves-Morris.
He took command of the Battalion in Bulford on 25th November 1953 and it was not long before he was immersed in the rigours of training on Salisbury Plain. His early months in Command also saw a ceremonial parade in commemoration of the 260th anniversary of the raising of the 29th Foot, followed by the inevitable normal requirements of the U.K. training cycle.
In February 1955 Peter took the Battalion once again to B.A.O.R. this time to be stationed at Iserlohn. His 1955 year in command was principally remarkable for the Battalion's successes at Bisley, where, inter alia, they won the K.R.R.C. Cup the Unit Championship.
Lieut.-Colonel Vaughan (July 1944)
On his return to the U.K. Peter was posted to H.Q. Western Command at Chester and assumed the appointment of Assistant Adjutant General, where he remained until he retired in 1959 in order to take over the Retired officer's appointment of O.C. Regimental Headquarters and Regimental Secretary at Norton Barracks.
Within a few months of assuming his appointment he found himself in the midst of all the arrangements for the reception of the 1st Battalion on its return from The Caribbean to be stationed in its Regimental Home at Norton.
1961, 1962 and 1968 saw him active behind the scenes when the Regiment received the Freedoms of the Boroughs of Dudley, Oldbury and Halesowen. Throughout this time Peter gave all his boundless enthusiasm to fostering the interests of his Regiment in many fields the maintenance of its connections with the City and County, his editorship of 'FIRM,' the Regimental Magazine, and, with the disappearance of National Service. the energetic pursuit of an imaginative Recruiting Campaign for Regular Soldiers are just three of these.
And so to 1970 and the Amalgamation of our two former Regiments (Worcestershire Regiment and Sherwood Forester Regiment). No one out of touch with Regimental Headquarters can have any idea of the debt owed to Peter by The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment in the long months of careful and meticulous planning of the many aspects involved in welding the traditions and customs of two famous Regiments into one.
Over the years he served three Colonels of The Worcestershire Regiment, General Sir Richard Gale, Brigadier Donald Nott and Colonel Bill Bowen, and the first two Colonels of the new Regiment, Brigadier Jimmy Hackett and Colonel Bill Bowen.
Lieut.-Colonel Vaughan (1970)
Lieut.-Colonel Charles Peter Vaughan, died 15th November, 1975, at the age of 64. At the time of his death he was still the Regimental Secretary of The Regiment and Editor of Regimental Magazine 'Firm and Forester'.
His funeral was a private one, attended only by his family. However, on 16th January, 1976, a Service of Thanksgiving for his life and work was held in Worcester Cathedral.
The Lord Lieutenant of Hereford and Worcester, Colonel J. F. Maclean was present, as were The Lieutenant of Hereford and Worcester, Admiral Sir Deric Holland-Martin with Lady Holland-Martin, members of the Lieutenancy, officers of The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment, of the two former Regiments, The Worcestershire Regiment and The Sherwood Foresters and of The Welsh Guards, many distinguished members of The St. John Ambulance Brigade and numerous old comrades in The Worcestershire Regiments' Association, and many other friends and former colleagues.
The Dean of Worcester, assisted by The Rector of Earl's Croome with Hill Croome and Strensham, officiated and gave the Blessing, The Colonel of The Regiment gave the Bidding, Brigadier D. H. Nott read the lesson and Sir Hugh Chance gave the address.