VJ Day 80: Remembering the brothers who died as Prisoners of War

Ahead of the 80th anniversary of VJ Daythe extraordinary bravery of two brothers who died as Japanese Prisoners of War is being remembered. Cuthbert Pugh and big brother Edward Pugh are buried in Myanmar.

They are just two of the Pughs found by a man - called Geoff Pugh - who has tracked down every single “Pugh” killed in both World War Two and World War One. He admitted the mammoth task became an “obsession”.

But on the eve of the 80th anniversary of VJ Day Geoff has now successfully tracked them all down. Not only has he found all 127 Pughs who died in WW2, he’s found all 278 who died in World War Oneas well.

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He visited the Far East to pay his respects at the graves of two brothers held as Japanese Prisoners of War. Cuthbert and Edward are buried 5000 miles away in the same cemetery in Myanmar. They were from different regiments and died in different years. Geoff said: "It has become a bit of an obsession but I just wanted to pay my respects to all these men and women and make sure they will never be forgotten. Some of their stories are incredible."

He said: "How do you select any individual from a list of 127 names, when every life is precious? However, two others that stand out for me are Cuthbert Martin Parkhurst and Edward Baldwyn, brothers who served in two different Regiments – The Royal Norfolk Regiment, and The Royal Engineers.

"They both became Prisoners of War held by the Japanese and died within seven months of each other and are buried at Kanchanaburi War Cemetery. I don’t know if they were held in the same prison camp, but this is doubtful. I visited this place in March 2019."

Cuthbert died on July 12, 1943, aged 30. He was with the 5th Battalion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment. Edward died on December 10, 1942, aged 34. He was with 251 Field Park Company, Royal Engineers. Geoff added: "With the VE Day anniversary earlier this year I managed to find out that there were ten Pughs who died between March 1, 1945, and May 8, 1945.

"The name of the Pugh who died nearest to VE Day was George Sydney Pugh. He was born on March 29, 1914, and died on May 1, 1945, just seven days before VE Day. He is buried at Kiel War Cemetery in Germany, and he served in 23rd Hussars Royal Armoured Corps.

Geoff has dug deeper into George’s story and found he’d survived the Normandy landings. His regiment then went on to help liberate Belsen. Geoff said: "He was one of four casualties who was killed on May 1, 1945. The others were Serjeant Christopher Patrick, Corporal George Edward Hoggart and Lance Corporal Benjamin Taylor.

"They all served in the 23rd Hussars Royal Armoured Corps which was a Tank Regiment originally equipped with Shermans and Comet Tanks. They arrived in Normandy a week after D-Day and travelled to the Baltic area until the German surrender on May 8, a week after these soldiers were killed in action. Records show that the bodies were exhumed from their original burial site and re-buried in Kiel British Cemetery on December 10, 1947."

Geoff added poignantly: "It was the 23rd who helped to liberate Bergen- Belsen Concentration Camp. It’s such a tragedy they died so close to the end of the war in Europe and weren’t able to celebrate victory.'"

Geoff, 77, from Maldon,Essex, is a retired timber trader and a volunteer with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Geoff’s dad reached the rank of major and met and fell in love with his mother after meeting her near Lille at the end of World War Two. They moved back to England after the war and he left the army despite being offered the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

He and wife Esther, who is from Switzerland, have two daughters and four grandchildren and have travelled to various countries to see numerous Pugh graves and pay their respects. Incredibly Geoff’s maternal grandfather actually died fighting in WW1. He said: "We always stop at his grave when we drive down to Switzerland. He’s buried on the Marne - but obviously he’s not a ‘Pugh’."

As part of his extensive research Geoff has discovered so many poignant stories from all over the world including Libya, Iraq and Egypt. He said: "There were sailors, soldiers and airmen. Each of them sacrificed so much. A few of them ‘stick out’ - there was one guy who had been fighting at the front in Europe and had returned home to Liverpool on leave. He had a one year old son. The family were at home when it was hit by a Germanbomb and they died."

He found two women who had died and both the youngest and the oldest victims. He said: “There were two women - Dora Cecilia Pugh who was just 20 when she died. She was in the Auxiliary Territorial Service and her cause of death remains unknown. The other was Rosemary Edith Pugh. She was 21 and with the Canadian Women’s Army Corps. She died as a result of Lysol poisoning. Was her death a suicide? We will probably never know.

"The youngest was Henry Francis Pugh. He was either 15 or 16 years old. He was a boy cook on SS ‘Roumanie’ a Belgian cargo ship which was sunk by German Submarine U-617 380 miles South West of Iceland in 1942. The oldest was Alfred Frederick Pugh. He was 59 and served in Essential Services Corps, South Africa."

On his WW1 research he found there are 32 Pughs named on the famous Thiepval Memorial and 11 on the nearby Arras memorial. "That indicates they have no known grave,' explained Geoff.

Claire Horton CBE, Director General of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission said: "We warmly congratulate Geoff on his extraordinary research and dedication in honouring the memory of those who served and died during the World Wars. His work is a powerful reminder of the human stories behind every name we commemorate. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is proud to care for the graves and memorials of more than 1.7 million men and women of the Commonwealth forces who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars, and we also commemorate civilians in the Civilian Roll of Honour at Westminster Abbey.

"We are proud to have a team of leading researchers and historians, whose work helps ensure that these stories are preserved and shared. Stories like Geoff's are exactly why our work matters - and why, through our For Evermore digital app, we are encouraging members of the public to share family histories and personal connections to those we commemorate, ensuring these memories live on for generations to come. We thank Geoff for helping to keep their stories alive."

Geoff added: "It’s so important that, as we approach the 80th anniversary of VJ Day we remember the Pugh brothers and all the other brave men and women who died. We owe them a great debt."