Such a great friend. I was fortunate to spend many happy days with Vaughan among them being walking the Greenstone Track with him when he thought we were out for some sort of stroll so he wore thongs on his feet, travelling around the east coast of Australia and then home on the Oriena on the ship's maiden voyage, times at the Hunua camp, days at my parents farm, hours at my parents kitchen table when I believe I tried to improve his maths., and of course the many Saturday night dances. My parents always treated Vaughan as part of the family and Vaughan always called my Dad "pop" such was the family tie. He and I were fortunate to be part of a wonderful group of friends who have shared life together for over sixty years and in his passing we loose another one of "the team" A full life well lived - Vaughan -Rest in peace Graham and Jenny

The Tabuteau family lived down the road from us and , as Jo or Ted were somehow related to my late Mother, I spent the first four years of my life playing with the Tabuteau boys. According to Mum, it was not long after she bought me home from the hospital that Logan come round and asked, ‘Can Kevin come out to play?’ Well, I probably wasn’t able to just that soon but, in due course I did. Vaughan and his friend, ‘Killy Booper’, were the real villains. This was just after the War and the boys had a gas mask. They would gain my confidence and then one of them would don the mask and appear and frighten the life out of me. I would start bawling and run off home. In turn, Mum would then go down to the Tabuteaus’ and probably tell their mother, Jo, to tell the boys to ‘Cut it out’. In turn, she would come back and tell me, ‘It’s alright now, Jo is going to sort out the boys.’ So, I’d steer clear for a day or so and then go back. I’d be assured ‘No Gas Mask,’ but five minutes later, out it would come again and off I would go bawling. When I turned 60 some years ago, it was a real pleasure to have Jo, her sons and the families along to the function. Even though I seen ‘Killy’ since 1951, it would have been nice had he been there too. However, later, when my wife Wendy and I were over visiting my Mum, we were at the Naval Museum at Devonport. Wendy, who didn’t know Vaughan terribly well, recognised him and said to me, ‘Isn’t that a friend of yours over there? I looked and said, ‘Yes, it is and I think I know the bloke he’s with, ‘Killy Booper.’He used to take Vaughan out for drives for some respite. In his later years, Vaughan used to visit my Mum, even when his own health deteriorating. I’d get a call from Mum a day or so later and I’d learn more of those happy childhood days. The same with the other Tabuteaus. Thanks, Vaughan, those visits to Mum were appreciated.