Menu

Pugh, Sydney

 

Using www.ancestry.co.uk we can find details of Sydney Pugh’s family life.Sydney Pugh was born Wrexham in 1893 to Joseph and Ellen Pugh nee Baker.

In the 1901 census the family was living in Prestwich, Manchester. Joesph was 46 years of age and a Joiner. His wife Ellen was 45 and the listed children were Thomas 22, Ernest 20, George 16, Gerald 12, Mary Jane 10, Sydney 8, Harry 5 . There was a boarder, Arthur Hayes age 22, a bricklayer from Ruabon.

In the 1911 census the family was living in a seven room house called ‘Rhyddyn View’ on Hawarden Road, Caergwrle.
Joseph Pugh was the head of the family at the age of 56. He and Ellen, 55, had been married for 35 years and had nine children, eight of who were still alive. Joesph was listed as a joiner, builder and employer and it is likely that ‘Pughs Yard’ on Hawarden Road Caergwrle was the site for this business. Mary Jane was 20 and listed as single. Sydney was 18, single and listed as a joiner’s apprentice. Harry was 15 and also a joiner’s apprentice. A granddaughter Dora 6 was also present. She was a scholar . Included on this census was Joseph Davis a boarder, aged 29 who was a bricklayer originally from Flint.

In the first quarter of 1914 Sydney married Mfanwy Roberts. Tragically Mfanwy died at age 19 on the 2nd of January 1915.

Sydney Pugh joined the military sometime in 1915. He was part of the force that was sent to Gallipoli to put pressure on the Turkish army in the hope that it would either divert the Germans attention away from France and allow more headway to be made on the western front, or that the Turkish army would fall quickly and allow a new front to be opened against the Central Powers.
However this was not to be, with the Commonwealth forces and French in a stalemate condition from early 1915 it was decided to launch a new offensive on the Gallipoli peninsula at Suvla Bay. This started on 6th August 1915 and was reinforced by the 53rd Welsh division on the 9th August but the allied forces were hopelessly exposed, being required to cross the considerable exposed distance of a salt lake to engage the enemy on Scimitar Hill.
By the end of August 1915 the armies were locked into trench warfare and no further serious action was fought at Gallipoli.

The military records for Sydney are not complete. We can see that his enlistment place was Caergwrle and that he was awarded the British war and Victory medals on one medal role. Another medal role card awards him the 1914-15 Star medal and states that his disembarkation into the theatre of war was 8th August 1915 and that he was killed in action three days later.

The Flintshire Record Office card for Sydney Pugh states that he was killed by a shell while carrying a stretcher.

 


Back to top