Pugh died in 1941 by remaining aboard a sinking troop ship to minister to trapped and wounded military personnel.

[citation needed] In the First World War in 1917–19 he was a medical orderly in France with the South African Field Ambulance.

[1] Pugh married Amy Lilian Tarrant[2] and they had three children: sons Geoffrey and Alastair[7] and daughter Fiona.

She had capacity for about 500 troops but on this occasion was heavily overloaded with about 1,200 British Army, Royal Marines and RAF personnel.

The explosion caused extensive damage below decks, where collapsed overheads and wrecked ladders injured or trapped many of the men in one of the converted holds.

[8] As Anselm's bow settled lower in the water, Pugh turned his attention to his fellow-airmen injured and trapped in one of the converted holds.

He seemed to be everywhere at once, doing his best to comfort the injured, helping with the boats and rafts (two of these were rendered unserviceable as a result of the explosion) and visiting the different lower sections where men were quartered.

"[8] A photograph of Pugh, alongside his GC citation, is displayed at the Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre, Amport House.

An inscription in the chapel of Mansfield College, Oxford commemorates alumni killed in the Second World War, including Pugh.