Richard Henry Crommelin Pugh was born in 1927 as a son of John James Edgar Pugh and Charlotte Winifred Crommelin Sadler. The Crommelin name addition originated from Richard’s grandmother, Charlotte Emilia Crommelin, a descendant of Charles (Governor of Bombay) and his father Marc Antoine. Marc Antoine left France as a young boy to be naturalized in England in 1706 before he departed for Bombay in 1710. There he worked for the British East India Company until Marc Antoine (by then "Marc Anthony") passed away 10 years later. The Crommelin family had a presence in India which lasted 218 years. It ended with the death of Lucy Crommelin in Darjeeling, 1928.

Richard was educated at Buxton college in Derbyshire; he served in the Royal Air Force 1947-1949; obtained a degree in Law from London University; qualified as a Chartered Accountant; had various jobs and ended up as Deputy Chairman of The Great Universal Stores [now known as GUS plc, a large FTSE 100 retailing group in the UK with multiple activities like catalogue sales, internet (on-line) shopping and various financial activities].

He traveled extensively on business (and pleasure) all over the world. In particular he traveled throughout India and spent time in Darjeeling, Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and down the Malabar Coast (SW Indian Coast) - all Crommelin country. An interesting journey for him was to re-trace part of Charles Russell Crommelin's 1820 sea voyage from Calcutta to Canton (China) through the Sunda Strait (the narrow passage between Java and Sumatra), passing Java and the southern part of the Sulu Sea (in the archipelago between Borneo-Kalimantan and the Philippines). This was at the time the home of the famous Sultan of Sulu. [In the time of Charles Russell, the Sultan of Sulu was a notorious promoter of piracy and cruelty and therefor much feared by seamen.] The Sulu Sea remained a haunt of piracy for many years even up to today!

He is the author of the various articles on this website dealing with the history of the Crommelin family in India.

Richard had three half-sisters (now deceased) and one elder brother (deceased before Richard’s birth). Richard and Ann have two children and three grandchildren, all daughters.

Richard has been involved in a number of charitable causes and is now retired. He is a Freeman of the City of London and a member of the Court of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Secretaries. He is presently also Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Worcestershire. Ann and he travel frequently - only for pleasure now, and - as Richard says……a little less vigorously!

- GCD/19th August 2007

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