[2] He was born in Westbury, Shropshire, the only son of coal merchant John Pugh and educated at Welshpool County School and the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he graduated BA in Geography in 1914.
He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1919 New Year Honours,[4] awarded the French Croix de Guerre and was twice mentioned in despatches.
During this time he carried out field studies to map the chronostratigraphy of the ancient Ordovician-Silurian rocks of the Corris and Bala districts and in 1928 was awarded a DSc by the University of Wales.
He commenced the task of producing a geological map of the country and was also responsible for the Water Department and the Atomic Energy Division.
The activities of the institution included the undertaking of field studies in six other countries across the world for the Atomic Energy Division and an aeromagnetic survey of England and Wales, which involved surveying the Cheshire salt fields and the mapping of coalfields and advisory work for the National Coal Board, the Scottish Hydro-electric Board and the Ministry of Housing.