In April, 1910, the Headmaster received an unanimous invitation from the Governors of Wellington College to be the Master there. It was a great grief to Giggleswick that she should lose one, who, though she had known him only for six years, had even in that brief period stamped himself upon the imagination of them all.
During his Headmastership everyone connected with the School seemed to gain a closer and more personal interest in its fortunes. He treated men as if they were themselves possessed of more than usual individuality. No one was expected to be a mere automaton, useful but replaceable. There was a special part of the School organization which each man was made to feel was precisely the part that he could play. Dormitory Masters were given greater independence, boys, especially the older boys, were made to realize that they also had a deep responsibility in the welfare of the School. The great features in Mr. Vaughan's character were his insight into the best qualities of all who surrounded him and the generous optimism of his judgment. It was a difficult task for any man to succeed to the work of Mr. Style, who had built up the School afresh through many arduous difficulties, but Mr. Vaughan realized that the passing of the period of rapid enlargement laid upon him the responsibility of fostering the slow and unostentatious work of profiting by the past and of seeing that the reputation of the School was maintained and increased. He was essentially an idealist, a dreamer of dreams, a visionary, but he never lost sight of the practicable. Organization was his handmaid.
Parents, Masters and Boys were quick to recognize the sincerity of the man. He was often impetuous but he was always candid. His decisions were firm, but he never shirked an argument. His sermons in Chapel were not steeped in oratory but the directness of his appeal, the persistent summons to the standard of Duty and the obvious depth of his emotion gave them power. Largeness of numbers never appealed to him, and he did not in any way strive to call the attention of the world to the School. He wished for success in Scholarships and in Athletics but he regarded the School as he regarded the individual. Distinction in work or games was no passport to his favour, but he continually looked only for the right use of such capacity as each one possessed. Frequently he would take boys from the lower part of the School and himself give them private tuition. Character was more than intellect. The boys learned to know him as their friend and he would go into their studies in the evening and be gladly welcomed. The unity of the School was much increased, the Hostel had no special privileges and at the close of his Headmastership the six years had witnessed a steady growth in the effectiveness of the School. No one ever forgot that he was Headmaster but at the same time he never failed to encourage others to act for themselves. He had a single-minded desire for the good of the School and he inspired others with it. His contempt for outworn conventions, his sincerity, his generosity of heart, even his impetuous nature impressed all alike with the feeling that they were dealing with one, who was essentially a man.