Maurice Arthur Pugh

Maurice Pugh was the brother of my Great Grandmother Hannah Favell (nee Pugh).  Maurice was the second youngest of six children born to Lewis Pugh and his wife Hannah.  Lewis was a shoemaker who had come to London from Leominster and his wife Hannah (nee Becht) had been born in Holland.

Maurice was only 3 years old when his mother died at the age of only 35 in 1900.  His father died just five years later.   In the intervening years his Father had to resort to the workhouse, being admitted in 1903, with his younger children following him shortly after along with a woman named Alice Pugh, presumably an Aunt, after being ejected from 29 William Street.  One can only guess that the rent could not be paid.

Maurice’s older siblings Lewis (17) and Hannah (16) were making their own way in life, but Thomas (12) Edith (9) Maurice (7) and Alice (5) were taken into the St Pancras Workhouse and were then sent to the Workhouse School at Leavesden near Watford.

 

Maurice Pugh

At the end of March 1916, just a few months past his nineteenth birthday, Maurice joined up with the armed forces.  But rather than the Army or Navy, Maurice was allocated to the Royal Flying Corps, which was later to become the RAF.   Maurice had joined for the ‘duration of the war’ and after some initial training was posted to the RFC  on the 1st February 1917.  Why was Maurice allocated to this new branch of the forces that was then in its infancy?  Maurice must have come away from the St Pancras Schools at Leavesden with a decent basic education and perhaps a natural talent for drawing.  His civilian occupation on joining up was given as ‘Process Artist’ and I had always been told that he drew maps for one of the large newspapers during the second world war, so perhaps that was a needed talent that was recognised when he came to join up.  Maybe an aptitude for technical drawing and mechanics.

Maurice was allocated to the newly formed RAF in April 1918.  61035 Maurice A Pugh was noted as a Fitter (Eng) in the RFC (Engine Fitter?)  which then translated to the rank of A Mech 1 in the new RAF.  Air Mechanic 1st Class?  He was retained for a while after the war when he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant.  The census of 1939 records Maurice as living in Watford with his wife Dorothy.  his occupation was Process Artist, Draughtsman, Mechanical.  He died in Watford in March 1982 at the age of 86.