Rev. Leslie Pugh 1912 - 2007
The Reverend Leslie Pugh was born In Keighley, Yorkshire in 1912. He trained as a draughtsman and married Caroline Elizabeth Martin in 1935. They had three children, Margaret, born 1940, David, born 1944 and Susan, born 1947.
Before the war Leslie was a member of the Peace Pledge Union and for a short time the Independent Labour Party. During the war he was a conscientious objector and worked mainly on the land. He also packed medical supplies and was a fire watcher in Manchester. After the war he trained as a Congregational Minister and took up his first appointment in 1949 at Breightmet Free Church, Bolton. In 1954 he moved to Droylsden, between Manchester and Ashton under Lyne. In 1969 he moved again, this time to Farnworth - Albert Road Congregational Church - though by now, after its union with the Presbyterian Church, it had become United Reformed. His final ministry was at Little Hulton, near Farnworth. He retired from there at the age of 67 in 1979. Carrie died in the same year. After being looked after many years by Margaret, his final years were spent being cared for in Bolton until his death on December 29th 2006. He was frail and had lost his mental powers.
On clearing the house when he went into care, Margaret, David and Susan came across a hand written collection of neatly catalogued quotations. These had been gleaned from the wide variety of books that Leslie read during his professional life and were used in sermons, of which he preached two of twenty minutes each every Sunday and produced others for other occasions. The collection is of interest because it indicates the range of his reading and also shows insight into the thoughts which governed his theological thinking. They range from everyday writings to Paul Tillich and through every period of history.
The properly annotated list is in the process of being completed on the 'Quotations' page of the allonsong.com website.
(allonsong.com/family→Rev. Leslie Pugh→ Quotations)