PUGH, Rosemary Edith
Age at Death: 21
Rank Private
Unit: Canadian Women’s Army Corps
Service Number W13603
Place of Burial Beechmount Cemetery, Edmonton AB
Date of Birth 1924.09.07
Place of Birth Nantyglo, Wales, UK
Enlistment September 30, 1942, Edmonton AB
Date of Death 1945.12.19
Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Pugh, of Clyde
Rosemary Pugh’s service record shows a young woman who was incredibly unhappy in the service. There are many disciplinary citations for being AWL (Away Without Leave), drunkenness, and disrespect of authority. Rosemary enlisted at 18, and after three years was very vocal to her friends and people she served with that she wanted out of the military but they wouldn’t let her.
During the night of December 13, 1942, a very intoxicated Rosemary drank a bottle of Lysol. Her sister found her unresponsive in the early morning hours, Rosemary was rushed to hospital where she would pass away on December 19. She had been AWL since October 17, and had promised her sister she would return to her unit. The military ruled her death an accident, but the Edmonton police ruled it a suicide.
