Calvin Pugsley, 84, had made his home in Pembrokeshire for the past nine years.
Originally from Merthyr, he joined the Merthyr Express as a trainee reporter at 16 and after National Service in the Army, became a series reporter for the Leicester Mercury.
He returned to Merthyr in 1961 to work as a district reporter for both the South Wales Echo and the Western Mail. It was during his time as an industry correspondent for the Birmingham Evening Mail that he reported on the tragedy that struck Aberfan in 1966.
He was one of the first journalists to arrive, arriving at the Welsh village riding in the back of one of the rescue trucks. He reported from the harrowing scene, first focusing on the human tragedy before moving on to cover the subsequent investigation.
Calvin Pugsley never got over the ‘terrible sight’ his eyes received. His daughter, Carolyn Pugsley, explained: “Dad could never talk about Aberfan without being visibly emotional. He personally knew two of the murdered adults, and the stories of human tragedies shocked him to the end.
It was also during his time at the Birmingham Evening Mail that Mr Pugsley interviewed John Lennon, during his famous sleepover for peace at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel in 1969.
Mr Pugsley left journalism to pursue a career in public relations in 1976, when he returned to Wales to be appointed as the first chief information officer at the then newly created Wales Development Agency. He later became head of communications for the Cheltenham Field Commission in 1985, before taking early retirement to run his own public relations consultancy in 1993.
He retired to Orleton, a town near Ludlow, before finally settling in Letterston, where he lived for nine years.
He was a member of the choir at St Martin of Tours Church, Haverfordwest and an active member of the congregation, helping to organize its 900th anniversary in 2020.
He died at Withybush General Hospital and is survived by his partner, Mabyn Charlton, his ex-wife Angela (née Thompson), their two children: Julian Pugsley, a composer and musician, and Carolyn Pugsley, director of Freshwater, a leading communications agency in Cardiff and London; daughter-in-law Sarah and two grandchildren Daisy and Noah.
A memorial service for Calvin Pugsley will take place on Monday, February 27 at 11:30am at St Martin of Tours Church in Haverfordwest.
There will only be family flowers, but donations in his memory can be made to EthiopiaAID ethiopiaid.org.uk/donate-now/
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