Vaughan read the work of Arthur Rimbaud from an early age and made dozens of paintings, gouaches and pencil drawings inspired by his poetry. Over the course of 1942/3, he fell in love with Bill Greest, a young married conscript who was unable to return his feelings. His journal echoes the inextinguishable longings of Rimbaud’s poem, Une Saison en Enfer. Feeling the need to give visual expression to poetry which reflected his own troubled circumstances, Vaughan made a series of paintings in gouache, pen, ink and wax-resist which included Ah Cette Vie De Mon Enfance. Five years later he showed them to John Lehmann who suggested they should illustrate a new edition of Rimbaud’s poems. The Whitechapel catalogue for Vaughan’s important 1962 retrospective informs us that:
These drawings were subsequently revised and reworked, with a number of associated studies in various media, all of which provided the basis for a set of eight three-coloured lithographic illustrations in the new edition of Rimbaud’s book published by John Lehmann, London, 1949. The artist was responsible for the layout and general design of the book, which was translated by Norman Cameron.

The Nicolas and Frances McDowall Collection of British Neo-Romantic Art

Monnow Valley Arts, The Nicolas and Frances McDowall Collection of British Neo-Romantic Art. ABC Print Ltd: Hereford. p.45