As a conscientious objector, Vaughan spent the war as a non-combatant in the army. Without access to a studio, his work was restricted in scale and medium and his output from the period consists almost entirely of small scale works on paper, executed in ink and gouache, often with a very limited colour range. By 1944, he was stationed at Malton in Yorkshire, and often engaged in heavy manual work. His experiences gave him a great empathy towards labourers; his sensitivity towards their toil is on full display in our drawing.