View source for Tony Pugsley

{{Short description|Royal Navy Rear Admiral (1901-1990)}}
{{more footnotes|date=August 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Tony Pugsley
|image= Anthony Follett Pugsley.JPG
|image_size= 
|alt= 
|caption= Captain Anthony Pugsley c.1945
|birth_date= {{Birth date|1901|12|7|df=y}}
|death_date= {{Death date and age|1990|7|17|1901|12|7|df=y}}
|birth_place= 
|death_place= 
|placeofburial= 
|nickname= 
|allegiance= {{flag|United Kingdom}}
|branch= {{navy|United Kingdom}}
|serviceyears= 1915–1954
|rank= [[Rear admiral (Royal Navy)|Rear Admiral]]
|servicenumber= 
|unit= 
|commands= [[Flag Officer]] Malayan Area<br/>{{HMS|Warrior|R31|6}}<br/>[[HMS Ferret (1940 shore establishment)|HMS ''Sea Eagle'']]<br/>[[List of squadrons and flotillas of the Royal Navy|19th Destroyer Flotilla]]<br/>{{HMS|Trafalgar|D77|6}}<br/>[[List of squadrons and flotillas of the Royal Navy|14th Destroyer Flotilla]]<br/>{{HMS|Jervis|F00|6}}<br/>{{HMS|Paladin|G69|6}}<br/>{{HMS|Fearless|H67|6}}<br/>{{HMS|Javelin|F61|6}}<br/>{{HMS|Westcott|D47|6}}<br/>{{HMS|Antelope|H36|6}}
|battles= [[Second World War]]
* [[Norwegian Campaign]]
* [[Evacuation of Dunkirk]]
* [[Battle of the Atlantic]]
* [[Operation Grog]]
* [[Operation Tiger (1941)|Operation Tiger]]
* [[Malta Convoys]] 
** [[Operation Substance]]
* [[Indian Ocean Raid]]
* [[Operation Ironclad]]
* [[Malta Convoys]]
** [[Operation Vigorous]]
* [[Battle of the Mediterranean]]
* [[Normandy landings]]
* [[Battle of the Scheldt]] 
** [[Operation Infatuate]]
|awards= [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]]<br/>[[Distinguished Service Order]] & [[Medal bar|Two Bars]]<br/>[[Mentioned in Despatches]] (3)<br/>[[War Cross (Greece)|War Cross]] (Greece)
|relations= 
|laterwork= 
}}
[[Rear admiral (Royal Navy)|Rear Admiral]] '''Anthony Follett Pugsley''' {{post-nominals|CB|DSO**}} (7 December 1901 – 17 July 1990) was a British naval officer. During the [[Second World War]] he served as a successful destroyer captain, landed the 3rd Canadian Division on D-Day, and planned and executed the amphibious landings on [[Walcheren]] during a critically important phase in the [[Battle of the Scheldt]] in late 1944.

==Early life and family==
Tony Pugsley was born on 7 December 1901, the son of a solicitor, John Follett Pugsley, and Lucy Melton Chorley Loveband. Both his parents came from Devonshire families; his grandfather, who had qualified but never practised as a doctor, lived at [[Wiveliscombe]], and his mother’s family were gentry originally from [[Yarnscombe]] in north-west Devon. Pugsley was descended both from Josiah Follett, the non-conformist preacher of the 18th Century, and William Pugsley who as a [[midshipman]] survived the sinking of the {{HMS|Royal George|1756|2}} when she capsized at Spithead in 1782.<ref>The Royal George by Brigadier R.F Johnson</ref>

Pugsley was educated for two terms at [[Blundell's School]] in Tiverton, the fifth successive generation of Pugsleys to go there, before joining the Navy as a cadet, aged 13, and going to the [[Royal Naval College, Osborne]], and thence to the [[Britannia Royal Naval College|Royal Naval College Dartmouth]]. He joined {{HMS|Warspite|03|6}} as a midshipman in time to witness the surrender of the German High-Seas Fleet to the British Grand Fleet in November 1918.

In 1931 Pugsley married Barbara Byam Shaw, the daughter of the [[pre-Raphaelite]] artist [[John Byam Liston Shaw]] (Byam Shaw) and Caroline Evelyn Eunice Pyke-Nott.

==Early career==
His early experiences as second-in-command of the gunboat {{HMS|Widgeon|1904|6}} on the river [[Yangtze]] from 1925 to 1927 are recorded in Pugsley’s memoirs, ''Destroyer Man''. At a particularly dangerous and lawless time in Chinese history, the upper Yangtze was ruled by warlords. An uneasy peace was kept by a British naval presence, and when one of the warlords held a number of British merchant seamen hostage, Pugsley received his first opportunity to distinguish himself in aiding in their rescue.  On another occasion he prevented a Chinese mob from overrunning a British cantonment by leading a guard of four sailors with unloaded rifles, he himself armed only with a service cane, towards the mob which parted and melted away<ref name=destroyer>''Destroyer Man'' by Rear-Admiral AF Pugsley in collaboration with [[Donald Macintyre (Royal Navy officer)|Captain Donald Macintyre]]. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1957</ref><ref>Gunboats on the Great River: A History of the Royal Navy on the Yangtze, by Gregory Haines, TBS The Book Service Ltd (May 1976)</ref>{{page needed|date=October 2021}}

==HMS ''Javelin''==
At the outbreak of the Second World War, Pugsley, by now a commander, was captain of the destroyer {{HMS|Javelin|F61|6}}, and was [[mentioned in despatches]] for his ship’s defence against enemy aircraft in the [[Norwegian Campaign]].<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}}<ref>{{London Gazette |date=19 July 1940|supp=y|page=4492 |issue=34901}}</ref>

''Javelin'' was also at the [[Evacuation of Dunkirk]], where she evacuated some 1,400 troops before being withdrawn to form part of a special anti-invasion force.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-37J-Javelin.htm |last=Mason |first=Geoffrey B |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=Gordon |year=2004 |title=HMS Javelin (F 61) – J-class Destroyer |work=Service Histories of Royal Navy Warships in World War 2}}</ref><ref name=telegraph>Daily Telegraph, Monday 23 July 1990, Obituary of Rear-Adml Tony Pugsley</ref>

After Dunkirk, Javelin was ordered to join [[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma|Captain Lord Louis Mountbatten’s]] [[Fifth Destroyer Flotilla]] at [[Immingham]]. The flotilla was a force of [[J, K and N-class destroyer|J- and K-class destroyers]], commanded by Mountbatten from, variously, his ship {{HMS|Kelly|F01|6}}, and (when ''Kelly'' was under repair as she often was) the County Hotel at Immingham.<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}}

As ''Javelin'' was the sole possessor in the flotilla of a radar set, Mountbatten often selected ''Javelin'' to be his temporary [[flotilla leader]].<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}} On the night of 24 November 1940, the flotilla was at sea sweeping off the South Devon and Cornish coast. Mountbatten was Captain D (as the officer commanding the [[flotilla]]), and was embarked on board ''Javelin''. As the Daily Telegraph put it, "whatever Mountbatten’s attributes in other fields, at sea he was regarded by Pugsley and others as an accident-prone Jonah".<ref name=telegraph/> This view was backed by much circumstantial evidence. The ''Kelly'', Mountbatten’s famous ship, had an astonishing number of misfortunes under his command, not all of them through enemy action. Pugsley in his memoirs remarks that Mountbatten was otherwise an administrator of brilliant efficiency, and above all a man of great and sincere charm.<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}}

In a disastrous night-encounter with three German destroyers, Mountbatten over-ruled Pugsley’s advice which was typically forthright. When the destroyers were sighted, Pugsley said to Mountbatten "Straight on at ‘em, I presume, sir?". Mountbatten replied "No, no. We must turn [to port] to a parallel course at once or they will get away from us".<ref>Mountbatten – [[Richard Hough]] 1981 Random House {{ISBN|039451162X}}.</ref> Mountbatten wanted to ensure that the German destroyers, which had several knots extra at their disposal, did not escape. He accordingly wished to turn the British flotilla to a course that would not allow them to get away. Pugsley was keen to get into action and bring his forward guns to bear as quickly as possible, in order to smother the enemy. With ranges almost point-blank, the first few salvoes could have been decisive.<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}} The turn to port ordered by Mountbatten was disastrous, offering the Germans a ready target. ''Javelin'' was hit by two German torpedoes as she came onto a course parallel to that of the Germans’. Of the original 353 feet of ''Javelin'', only 155 feet remained.<ref name="Narrow Sea 1945 Pages 132">Hold the Narrow Sea (Naval Warfare in the English Channel 1939 – 1945) by Peter C Smith, Moorland Publishing, Pages 132 and 133</ref> Three officers (Surgeon-Lieutenant Sloan RNVR, Sub-Lieutenant Mitchell, and Midshipman Fitzgerald) and forty-three sailors (including Pugsley’s steward, Leading Steward Little whose loss Pugsley felt deeply) were killed.<ref>
{{cite web |url= http://www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1940-11NOV.htm |title=Naval-History.net |work= Casualty lists of the Royal Navy and Dominion Navies in World War 2}}</ref>

The German flotilla made good its escape.<ref name="Narrow Sea 1945 Pages 132"/> ''Javelin'' meanwhile was towed by tug over the course of the next 36 hours to [[Plymouth]].<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}}  Pugsley was again mentioned in dispatches.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=35078 |page=968 |supp=y |date=18 February 1941}}</ref>

==HMS ''Fearless'' and HMS ''Paladin''==
''Javelin'' being under heavy reconstruction, Pugsley shortly afterwards took command of {{HMS|Fearless|H67|6}}, at [[Troon]], within a flotilla commanded by Captain [[Guy Grantham]], and proceeded to [[Gibraltar]] on convoy duty.<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}} At Gibraltar, ''Fearless'' was ordered to join [[Force H]], under Vice-Admiral [[James Somerville|Sir James Somerville]], responsible for the Western half of the Mediterranean. Over the next few months HMS ''Fearless'' was in the Mediterranean, involved in [[Malta Convoys|convoy duties to re-supply Malta]] and the [[Operation Grog|bombardment of Genoa]], trying to avoid the Italian air-force’s (and on occasion the [[Luftwaffe]]’s) attentions. In June 1941 ''Fearless'' shared the credit for the sinking of the {{GS|U-138|1940|6}}.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-23F-Fearless.htm |title=HMS Fearless (H 67) - F-class Destroyer |first=Lt Cdr Geoffrey B |last=Mason |date=30 July 2011 |work=Service Histories of Royal Navy Warships in World War 2 |publisher=naval-history.net}}</ref> ''Fearless'' was sunk by aircraft attack on 23 July 1941 during [[Operation Substance]].<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}} Pugsley, again mentioned in dispatches, returned home, and, in October 1941, was appointed to command {{HMS|Paladin|G69|6}}, a brand-new destroyer being built by [[John Brown & Company]] at their shipyard on the [[River Clyde]]. ''Paladin'' sailed on 7 December 1941, and Pugsley took her on her first deployment, escort duty to [[Ceylon]].<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}} In April 1942, while in the Indian Ocean, ''Paladin'' rescued the captain, officers and ship's company of the heavy cruiser {{HMS|Dorsetshire|40|6}},<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}} and was involved in [[Operation Ironclad]], the capture of Diego Suarez, Madagascar, from Vichy French forces (earning ''Paladin'' her first [[battle honours]]).  ''Paladin'' then returned to the Mediterranean, via India and Mauritius, and joined Rear-Admiral [[Philip Vian]]’s force of some eight cruisers and twenty-six destroyers (plus the old battleship {{HMS|Centurion|1911|6}}, now a radio-controlled target-ship), in order to force passage through the infamous "bomb alley", the term given to the westward route from [[Alexandria]] to Malta. The attempt (known as [[Operation Vigorous]]) failed, in the face of determined and sustained attack by the Luftwaffe and Italian air-force, and Vian’s force retired to Alexandria with a number of ships sunk or put out of action. The relief of Malta by the British was as a result thwarted until [[Second Battle of El Alamein|after El Alamein]].  Pugsley was awarded the DSO for his exploits while in command of ''Paladin''.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=36033 |supp=y |page=2442 |date=2 June 1943}}</ref>

==HMS ''Jervis'' and 14th Destroyer Flotilla==
On New Year’s Eve 1942, Pugsley was promoted to [[Captain (Royal Navy)|captain]], and to command of the [[List of squadrons and flotillas of the Royal Navy|14th Destroyer Flotilla]] in {{HMS|Jervis|F00|6}}. He subsequently was appointed to command all the fleet destroyers in the Eastern Mediterranean. Throughout the early part of 1943, his flotilla harried Axis shipping and engaged Italian naval surface ships.<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}}  Following the highly successful destruction of an Axis convoy off Sicily, he was awarded a Bar to his DSO and the [[War Cross (Greece)|Greek War Cross]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=36143 |supp=2 |page=3785 |date= 20 August 1943}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bar_to_DSO.JPG|title=Letter to Anthony Follett Pugsley notifying him of the award of a bar to his DSO|date=17 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=37519 |page=1631 |supp=3 |date=29 March 1946}}</ref>

==D-Day and Captain Patrols Channel==
In mid-July 1943, after four years almost continuously at sea, Pugsley was recalled to join the Combined Operations planning for [[D-Day]] at [[Cowes]] under Commodore [[John Hughes-Hallett]]. Pugsley was appointed to command one of the assault groups.<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}} Each landing force (there were originally three, two British and one American, although this was later increased to three British and two American) had a commodore or rear-admiral as naval commander and was subdivided into three assault groups each with a captain in command. Pugsley was given the frigate {{HMS|Lawford|K514|6}} as his headquarters ship for assault group J1, responsible for the landing operations of the [[3rd Canadian Division]] at [[Juno Beach]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=5YCfAgAAQBAJ&dq=Assault-Group+Force+T&pg=PA21 Operation Neptune 1944]</ref>{{page needed|date=October 2021}} ''Lawford'' was sunk by enemy aircraft in the early stages of the landings.<ref>Hold the Narrow Sea (Naval Warfare in the English Channel 1939 – 1945) by Peter C Smith, Moorland Publishing, Page 228</ref> The landings completed, Pugsley was awarded a second Bar to his DSO.<ref>[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/36794/supplement/5214/data.pdf SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE 14 NOVEMBER 1944]</ref> and was appointed deputy to Admiral Vian in the British landing areas in the Channel as Captain (Patrols).<ref>Operation Neptune: The Normandy Landings 1944 by Kenneth Edwards ({{ISBN|9781781551271}})</ref>

After Vian's departure, Pugsley was promoted to the command of all British naval patrols in the Channel, responsible for preventing the enemy disrupting the Allied build-up.<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}}

==Walcheren and Operation Infatuate==
{{main|Battle of the Scheldt}}

In mid-September 1944, Pugsley was given a new appointment, involving finding a solution to dislodge the Germans from the island of [[Walcheren]]. The role quickly became one of planning and commanding an amphibious operation to clear the island.<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}}

===Background to Infatuate===
Walcheren was the key to opening up the [[Scheldt]] estuary which would open up the strategic port of [[Antwerp]], critical to supply the Allied armies pursuing the Germans to the [[Rhine]]. The whole impetus of the Allied advance across North-Western Europe, and into Germany, was dependent on rapid and ample supply, particularly fuel and ammunition. If Antwerp were not soon made available, the advance would be in imminent and fatal danger of being halted in its tracks.

Antwerp had been captured on 4 September but, despite strenuous efforts by Admiral Sir [[Bertram Ramsay]] (Allied Naval Commander Expeditionary Force) to concentrate  Field Marshal [[Field Marshall Montgomery|Montgomery's]] (commander 21st Army Group) mind on the opening of Antwerp as a top priority, Montgomery had failed to realize its strategic importance until after the Germans had, on 17 September, succeeded in heavily mining the West Scheldt. Following the failure of [[Operation Market Garden]], the full strategic significance of Antwerp dawned upon the Allies, with the realization that a huge mine clearance operation was needed in the Scheldt estuary in order to open it up.<ref>A Bridge Too Far (Hodder) by Cornelius Ryan ({{ISBN|9780340933985}})</ref>{{page needed|date=October 2021}} This could only be undertaken when the enemy had been driven from both banks of the Scheldt estuary. The northern bank, consisting of the large island of Walcheren and its causeway to the mainland, remained heavily fortified and strongly garrisoned by the Germans, with batteries sweeping the Scheldt and preventing the essential mine clearance from proceeding.<ref>The Times Saturday 21 July 1990, Obituary of Rear-Adml 'Tony' Pugsley</ref>

===Planning Infatuate===
Pugsley represented Admiral Ramsay at the HQ of General  [[Harry Crerar]], whose [[First Canadian Army]] had been entrusted with clearing the Scheldt. Pugsley soon became convinced that two combined amphibious assaults of Walcheren with simultaneous crossings of the causeway was now the only feasible way of ensuring the capture of the island.<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}} He pressed this view on Brigadier Church Mann, Crerar’s Chief of Staff. Mann was sympathetic and confirmed that General [[Guy Simonds]], the corps commander responsible for the area, held the same view. Pugsley contacted Admiral Ramsay, who also immediately supported the idea, and authorised the planning and operational resources that Pugsley needed.<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}}

While the crucial South bank of the Scheldt, around [[Breskens]] and [[South Beveland]], was being cleared of Germans by the First Canadian Army in sustained and fierce fighting (this would allow Walcheren to be assaulted without fear of hostile action from the rear), Pugsley and his staff planned the amphibious elements of the operation.<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}} The assault was to be a three-pronged attack, two amphibious and one land-based.<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}} The major obstacle to a landing from the sea was the massive German defences, in the form of fourteen colossal batteries commanding the whole of the sea-approaches to the Scheldt and Antwerp; to attempt any form of landing at its foot would be tantamount to suicide.<ref>Battle of the Scheldt by W.Denis Whitaker, Shelagh Whitaker ({{ISBN|9780285626966}})</ref>{{page needed|date=October 2021}}

The solution was found by General Simonds who persuaded the [[RAF]] to use bombing to breach the dyke.<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}} The Dutch Government had given agonised consent to this happening, and early in October 1944 four breaches of the dyke had been achieved by the RAF. A great part of the island was flooded by the incoming tides. The amphibious landings now became feasible, and the troops for the assault, the [[4th Commando Brigade]] based at [[Bruges]] under Brigadier Leicester, became actively involved in the planning of the operation.

Pugsley, now with his HQ at Bruges, had already been appointed naval commander of "Assault-Group Force T" by Admiral Ramsay, with Commander Jonas as his deputy, and Commanders Masterman, Dathan, and [[Redvers Prior|Redvers M Prior M.P.]] on his staff as, respectively, Staff Officer (Operations), Staff Officer (Plans), and principal Beachmaster, while [[Colin Maud|Captain Colin Maud]] was appointed Pugsley's deputy for the simultaneous Flushing assault (Maud subsequently took on the principal Beachmaster role for the Flushing operation).<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}} The final plan, known as [[Operation Infatuate]], involved two amphibious assaults to be launched simultaneously, one to be launched from Breskens to Flushing by [[No. 4 Commando|4 Commando]] (the one Army unit in the 4th Commando Brigade), and the other assault to be directed by the main force of 4th Commando Brigade at the beach at Westkapelle, the westernmost point of Walcheren. Westkapelle was still heavily defended and the defences had not been greatly affected by the flooding of the island. Fourteen batteries with guns ranging from 75mm up to 200mm were sited, pointing seawards, within the defences. In the days immediately before the operation, the RAF and the battleship {{HMS|Warspite|03|6}} (in the last shoot of her distinguished service since Jutland),<ref name=Engage>Engage the Enemy More Closely, by Correlli Barnett, Penguin Classic Military History, 1991, page 850</ref> as well as the [[monitor (warship)|monitors]] {{HMS|Erebus|I02|6}} and {{HMS|Roberts|F40|6}} bombarded the defences.<ref name=Engage/><ref>Hold the Narrow Sea (Naval Warfare in the English Channel 1939 – 1945) by Peter C Smith, Moorland Publishing, Page 246</ref> The RAF alone dropped 4,871 tons of bombs, and a number of the batteries were put out of action.

===Infatuate===
{{main|Operation Infatuate}}
The final assembly point was at [[Ostend]], and the operation D-day was fixed as 1 November 1944. Pugsley moved his HQ to {{HMS|Kingsmill|K484|6}} where he was joined by Brigadier Leicester.<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}} Eleven heavy batteries at Westkapelle were known to be still operational. Further heavy bomber raids were planned for an hour before H-hour, which had been set at 9.45 a.m., although these failed to materialise. The fighter-bomber air support to be supplied by the RAF was also cancelled because of fog in Kent, although as the force went in, rocket-firing [[Hawker Typhoon|Typhoons]] were called in by the RAF liaison officer aboard ''Kingsmill'', and these succeeded in hitting a number of the German batteries.<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}} Pugsley had made the decision to proceed with the landings despite the very heavy fire to which the force was being subjected, and he ordered in the operation’s naval Support Squadron, in order to draw the fire of the defending batteries from the landing craft making the primary assault.<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}}  Part of the naval Support Squadron of 27 small craft, under Commander [[Kenneth Sellar]] and Lieutenant-Commander Leefe, accordingly closed to engage the German shore-based batteries. This they did with conspicuous gallantry, and with very heavy casualties.{{cn|date=October 2021}}

Soon after 10 a.m., the landings had been effected. [[41 Commando|41]], and [[No. 48 (Royal Marine) Commando|48 Commandos]] were safely ashore and were clearing enemy positions. They were joined by [[No. 47 (Royal Marine) Commando|47 Commando]] and the beach-head was established albeit supplies could not be landed until some 48 hours later.<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}}

By 12.30pm, nine of the Support Squadron's craft had been sunk, eleven put out of action, and a high percentage of their crews killed or wounded.  Ultimately the Support Squadron was to be rendered hors de combat and was recalled by Pugsley, so many of the craft had been damaged or destroyed.  Meanwhile, the beachhead, to which essential supplies of ammunition and food had to be transported, came under very heavy fire from German shore batteries which were no longer under attack from the Support Squadron.<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}}

===Aftermath===
Following the battle, Pugsley in his subsequent reports was unstinting in his praise of the heroic sacrifices made by the Support Squadron.<ref>Walcheren (Battleground Europe) by Andrew Rawson (Leo Cooper) ({{ISBN|9780850529616}})</ref>{{page needed|date=October 2021}} He maintained that the landings were successful largely because of those sacrifices. In a further tribute to the bravery of the Support Squadron, Major General Sir [[Robert Laycock]], Chief of Combined Operations, wrote to Pugsley with the following words:

<blockquote>I understand that the success of the landings and the comparatively light casualties sustained by No. 4 Special Service Brigade at Walcheren was due largely to the heroic efforts of the Naval Support Craft who, at great cost to themselves, effectively silenced the coastal defences.

I should like to express the appreciation of all ranks, Special Service Group, and particularly that of [[Robert Sturges|General Sturges]] and Brigadier Leicester and all ranks of No. 4 Special Service Brigade for the self-sacrifice shown by all naval personnel during the landings, which had such splendid results.

The Special Service Group sincerely hopes that they may have the privilege of co-operating again with Force T in any future amphibious operations they may be required to carry out.<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}}</blockquote>

By 8 November 1944, Walcheren with all its batteries had been captured and neutralized and the seaborne way to Antwerp secured, although it took more than ten squadrons of minesweepers until 26 November to clear the 80 miles of estuary and river.<ref name=Engage/> The importance of this victory and the supremely gallant sacrifice of the allied mariners, soldiers, and commandos involved, was made plain by the order of the German [[15th Army (Wehrmacht)|15th Army]] Commander, General [[Gustav-Adolf von Zangen]], issued on 31 October 1944, the day before the attack. <blockquote>"The defence of the approaches to Antwerp represents a task which is decisive for the further conduct of the war. After overrunning the Scheldt fortifications the English would finally be in a position to land great masses of material in a large and completely protected harbour. With this material they might deliver a death blow at the North German Plateau and be at Berlin before the onset of winter. For this reason we must hold the Scheldt Fortifications to the end. The German people is watching us. In this hour the fortifications along the Scheldt occupy a role which is decisive for the future of the our people".<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}}</blockquote>

Pugsley, was made, albeit still a junior captain, a [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]] for his and Force T's involvement in the Walcheren operations.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=36854 |supp=6 |page=5879 |date= 19 December 1944}}</ref>

==Assault-Group Force T (continued)==
Force T continued in existence until the end of the War, undertaking smaller operations and providing the seaward defence for the Allied armies operating in the Netherlands  and Germany.  More notable actions in which Force T was involved included the important transfer of the First Canadian Army across the Rhine into Germany in 1945, and launching numerous minor naval and amphibious commando raids against enemy units and strongpoints along the Dutch and East German coastlines.  Force T was disbanded in May 1945.<ref>[http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/LondonGazette/38171.pdf Supplement to the London Gazette of Tuesday 6 January 1948]</ref>

==Post-war==
In July 1945 Pugsley was appointed to command the [[List of squadrons and flotillas of the Royal Navy|19th Destroyer Flotilla]] in HMS ''Trafalgar'', but the War against Japan ended before the Flotilla reached the theatre of operations.<ref name=destroyer/>{{page needed|date=October 2021}}  Pugsley continued in command of the 19th Destroyer Flotilla for the year following the surrender of Japan.  Following an appointment on the directing staff of the Senior Officers' War Course at Greenwich, he was appointed to command of [[HMS Ferret (1940 shore establishment)|HMS ''Sea Eagle'']] and became the Director of the Joint Anti-Submarine School, and then commanded the light aircraft carrier {{HMS|Warrior|R31|6}}.  He was promoted Rear-Admiral in 1951 and was Flag-Officer Malayan Area during the [[Malayan Emergency]], responsible for naval support to the military operations and acting as naval adviser to [[Gerald Templer|General Sir Gerald Templer]].  Pugsley retired in 1954.

==Assessment==
The Daily Telegraph obituary of 23 July 1990 described Pugsley as having "an insatiable appetite for battle and impressive stamina; after a night on the bridge he would return to harbour, have a few gins and some lunch, and then summon his staff to discuss flotilla affairs. Pugsley played as hard as he fought – as one of his officers put it, "you had to have your drinking boots on to go ashore with the Captain" – and was forever smoking or sucking a small pipe".<ref>Daily Telegraph obituary of 23 July 1990</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pugsley, Anthony Follett}}
[[Category:1901 births]]
[[Category:1990 deaths]]
[[Category:Royal Navy rear admirals]]
[[Category:Royal Navy officers of World War II]]
[[Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:People educated at Blundell's School]]
[[Category:People educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne]]