Thomas Vaughan

Thomas Vaughan was a bodysnatcher active in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, in 1827. During this period, Vaughan exhumed at least 10 corpses from St. Nicholas' Churchyard and sold them to surgeons in London for dissection.

Career In 19th century, the profitable business of bodysnatching, or "resurrectionism," was fueled by the high demand for cadavers for medical dissection, as prior to the Anatomy Act in 1832, the only legal yet insufficient source of human cadavers was the bodies of criminals executed by the officials. It is recorded that Vaughan exhumed at least ten bodies, including two children, from the churchyard before being arrested, receiving between ten and twelve guineas for each body. During his sentence in Norwich Prison, he and his wife were supported financially by his surgeon clients. The news of body snatching elicited much fear and fury in the townspeople, as The Norfolk Chronicle reported at the time: '...wives were seen searching for the remains of their deceased husbands; husbands for those of their wives; and parents for their children. Bodies of the number of 20 or more were found to have been removed and the grief of those whose search was in vain can better be imagined than described.'

Memorial A blue plaque at Great Yarmouth Minster was unveiled by the Great Yarmouth Local History and Archaeological Society in 2011 to remember Thomas Vaughan. Dr Paul Davies, committee member of St Nicholas' Church Preservation Trust commented that without the cadavers medicine "wouldn't have progressed so fast" as "until quite late in the 19th Century people were still relying on the medical theories of the Romans - for nearly 2,000 years". St Nicolas' church curate Reverend James Stewart, who unveiled the plaque, also commented that it was important that despite the grisly crimes that were committed, the activities in the churchyard should be marked for their historical importance.