Sgt 17450 Thomas Pugh

• Age: 29
• From: Liverpool
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 19th Btn
• K.I.A Sunday 30th July 1916
• Commemorated at: Thiepval Memorial
  Panel Ref: P&F1D8B &8 C.

Thomas was born on 06th September 1886 in Liverpool, the son of Joseph Pugh and his wife Alice Sarah (née Hughes). He was baptised on 14th November 1886 at St Ambrose Church of England, Everton, Liverpool.  At the time of his baptism, his parents lived in Candia Street, and his father worked as a dock labourer. 

When his parents married on the 16th March 1884 at St Peter's Church, Liverpool, Joseph was a 39-year old widower with a daughter Emily, born in 1879. Alice, 33, had son William Hughes born in 1869. They had four children, all boys. Thomas had an elder brother Joseph, and younger brothers Robert and Albert.

In 1891 his parents with three sons were living at 22 Melbourne Street.  His father, 46, is a dock labourer born in Cheshire, and his mother is 43.  Joseph is 6, Thomas 4, and  Robert 12 months old.  They have a visitor Ellen Hughes, 47.  Half brother William Hughes is 22.  Also in the household are niece Emily Hughes,11, nephew George Hughes, 10, and three lodgers, Thomas and Ann O’Bryan and daughter Ann.

His father died in January 1901 aged 57.

The 1901 Census shows the family living at 22 Melbourne Street, Liverpool. His mother, Alice, is a widow aged 49, born 1852 with no occupation shown. At the time of the Census she is living with five of her children who were all born in Liverpool. Emily aged 21, born 1880 is a teashop assistant, Joseph aged 16, born 1885 is an apprentice electrical engineer, Thomas aged 14, is an office boy, Robert aged 11, born 1890 and Albert aged 5, born 1896. She also has a nephew George Hughes aged 20, born 1881 a carter who was born in Liverpool living at the address.

He married Eulalia Gladys Ermyntrude Ellis in the March quarter of 1911 at West Derby Register Office. Eulalia, the daughter of an Army Colour Sergeant, had lived in Liverpool since she was a child.  There appear to be no children born to the marriage. 

The 1911 Census shows Thomas living with his wife Eulalia at 58 Freeman Street, Liverpool. Thomas is aged 24, and gives his occupation as a clerk for a rubber merchant. His wife Eulalia is aged 25, born 1886 in Darlaston, Staffordshire. They have been married for under twelve months.

His mother, 63, and his siblings are living at 4 Osborne Grove, Queens Road, Everton.  Joseph, 26, married, works as a foreman electrician for the City Council, Robert, 21, also works for the Council as an electrician. Albert, 15, is a butcher’s assistant salesman.  Stepdaughter Emily Hughes, 30, is at home, and grandson Joseph L. Pugh, one year old.

Thomas enlisted in Liverpool joining the 19^th Battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment as Private 17450.

Formed on 07^th September 1914 the 19^th Battalion trained locally at Sefton Park and remained living at home or in rented accommodation until November 1914. They then moved to the hutted accommodation at Lord Derby’s estate at Knowsley Hall. On 30th April 1915 the 19th Battalion alongside the other three Pals battalions left Liverpool via Prescot Station for further training at Belton Park, Grantham. They remained here until September 1915 when they reached Larkhill Camp on Salisbury Plain. He arrived in France on 7^th November 1915.

He was killed in action on the 30^th July 1916 as Sergeant 17450, aged 29, at the village of Guillemont, France, during the Somme Offensive. 

19^th Battalion Diary 30^th July 1916

MALTZ HORN FARM

BATTLE begun. ZERO hour 4:45 am. The Battalion reached its objective, but suffered heavy losses, and had to evacuate its position owing to no reinforcements.

Everard Wyrall gives details of the attack in his book The History of The King’s Regiment; 

"The 2nd Attack on Guillemont- 29th July 1916 the 89th Brigade the 20th King's were to attack on the right and the 19th on the left. During the evening of the 29th the night was dark and foggy when the Battalions moved off and the 19th with Lt Col G Rollo commanding, when passing the South east of the Briqueterie they were heavily shelled first with H E and then with a new kind of asphyxiating Gas shell which had curious results, at first it had no nasty effect but about 8 hrs later men began to fall sick with violent headaches and pains in the stomach. All ranks had to wear gas masks which in the darkness and mist made the going terribly difficult. It was indeed wonderful that they were able to reach their Assembly point at all. But they did and by 2.45 a.m. on the 30th July 1916 the Btn was assembled having suffered about 30 Casualties on the way up ready for the Zero hour at 4.45 a.m.

It is known that the two left Companies of the 19th under Capt. Dodd and Capt. Nicholson advanced in touch with the 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers on their left although they suffered many casualties from Machine gun Fire did not encounter many Germans and reached their final objective about the time allocated, beginning at once to dig in south of the orchard on the South east corner of Guillemont.  

On the left of the 19th the Scots Fusiliers most gallantly forced their way through Guillemont to the eastern side of the village but were soon overwhelmed by the enemy and few returned. 

At 8 a.m. finding that the village was not held the two left Companies of the 19th received no word from the rear or either flank believed themselves to be totally isolated so were forced to fall back and dig in, their position being untenable.

At midday the effective fighting strength of the 19th Btn was just 7 Officers and 43 other ranks" 

When darkness fell on the battlefield the 30^th Division held a line from the railway on the eastern side of Trones Wood , southwards and including Arrow Head Copse, to east of Maltz Horn Farm. On this line the division was relieved by the 55^th Division during the early hours of the 31^st July.

Casualties in the 19^th Battalion were 11 Officers and 435 Other Ranks 

The events of 30^th July 1916 were regarded at the time as Liverpool’s blackest day. There follows an extract from The History of the 89^th Brigade written by Brigadier General Ferdinand Stanley which gives an indication of the events of the day.

Guillemont

Well the hour to advance came, and of all bad luck in the world it was a thick fog; so thick that you couldn’t see more than about ten yards. It was next to impossible to delay the attack – it was much too big an operation- so forward they had to go. It will give some idea when I say that on one flank we had to go 1,750 yards over big rolling country. Everyone knows what it is like to cross enclosed country which you know really well in a fog and how easy it is to lose your way. Therefore, imagine these rolling hills, with no landmarks and absolutely unknown to anyone. Is it surprising that people lost their way and lost touch with those next to them? As a matter of fact, it was wonderful the way in which many men found their way right to the place we wanted to get to. But as a connected attack it was impossible.

The fog was intense it was practically impossible to keep direction and parties got split up. Owing to the heavy shelling all the Bosches had left their main trenches and were lying out in the open with snipers and machine guns in shell holes, so of course our fellows were the most easy prey.

It is so awfully sad now going about and finding so many splendid fellows gone.   

Thomas has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme.

The Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bears the names of more than 72,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave. Over 90% of those commemorated died between July and November 1916. 

On 01st August 1932 the Prince of Wales and the President of France inaugurated the Thiepval Memorial in Picardy. The inscription reads: “Here are recorded the names of officers and men of the British Armies who fell on the Somme battlefields between July 1915 and March 1918 but to whom the fortune of war denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death.”

Thomas earned his three medals. 

Eulalia received his Army pay and a War Gratuity of £11-10s, and was awarded a pension of 11/- a week from February 1917, her address at that time 20 Hallfield Road, Bradford Yorks.  She later lived at 36 Hunt Street, Liverpool, and was awarded an Alternative Pension of £1-2s-1d a week from January 1919.

His widow remarried in 1922 in Bristol, to Alfred Shield Cauty, who was born in Liverpool and had served in the Royal Naval Reserve during the war.  She was again widowed in 1933, living at the time in Potter’s Bar, Middlesex. 

Eulalia has not been found on the 1939 register, but at some point she joined the Merchant Navy (her registration card from 1946, when she would have been 60 years old, shows her as a stewardess).  She later lived in Hornsey, Middlesex, and Dagenham, Essex.  She died in Surrey in 1979, aged about 93.

Robert joined the Royal Naval Air Service in June 1915 and later served in the R.A.F.  He married Eulalia’s sister Mabel in 1919 and lived in Hornsey, Middlesex.

Eulalia had suffered loss less than three weeks before Thomas was killed. Her brother Sergeant Keith Harley Ellis also joined the Liverpool Pals and served in the same battalion as Thomas.  He was killed in action on 11th July 1916 at Trones Wood, aged 27. Keith Ellis just like Thomas Pugh is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme.

Sadly, Thomas has not been found on any local memorial. 

We currently have no further information on Thomas Pugh, If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.