I’m delighted to have this opportunity to pay tribute to David Pugh, a former mayor of Newtown and celebrated local historian, who sadly passed away last week. David Pugh was a leading local historian for many decades, instrumental in establishing the Newtown history group in 1995 and its journal ‘The Newtonian’, both of which continue to flourish today. Best known for being seen with his camera recording buildings for historic records, there is now a 64-volume quarterly journal called ‘The Newtonian’, which comprises a library of over 28,000 references and 26,000 photographs of the town and its people.

Thanks to David Pugh’s sustained commitment and determination, ‘The Newtonian’ has undoubtedly provided an authoritative record of the town’s history for future generations. David’s legacy is that the recorded history of Newtown will now be around for years and years to come. In establishing the Newtown history group, he received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2013, and he was also a prominent member of the Newtown and District Civic Society. David was a longstanding member of the Labour Party and his wife, Anna, told me this week that when David went to vote, he always wore red socks. His contribution to civic society in Newtown has been outstanding, and he will be missed by me and the Newtown community.