Peter Vaughn Wynn-Owen (1945 - 1981)
Eric and Winifred’s first son, Peter Vaughn Wynn-Owen, was born on 1 December 1945. He was educated at Chater Primary School
and Watford Grammar School for boys. He represented the grammar school at rugby and was a very good gymnast until he had to
give up sport; a problem with the sheath of the muscle in one leg necessitated surgery.
Peter was the senior pupil, the Regimental Sergeant Major, in the grammar school‘s cadet force and visited Sandhurst with a
view to pursuing a military career.
He got on very well with Harry Ray who for several years was his headmaster – Ray had been a senior officer in the SOE
during World War II – but less well with Ray’s successor who disapproved of a satirical school magazine Peter edited and for
which he did much of the artwork – satire was very much in vogue at the time.
Peter then had what his brother described as a minor breakdown. Some of his views changed radically; most notably, in the light of the career he had been considering, he became a pacifist. Having gained A-levels in Art, English, Divinity and the General Paper, he decided to go to art school.
He attended a foundation course in art at Watford Technical College for a year, which he did not very much enjoy, before moving on to Hornsey College of art. He was a natural talent for realism but was pushed towards modern art. He finally studied sculpture and created some modern sculptures in wood and metal, some of which formed part of his final assessment, and helped him achieve a first class honours degree, coming top in his year. For a while he adopted a Bohemian appearance with long hair and a beard.
(See pictures showing Peter growing up and illustrating these aspects of his life.)