The son of James and Edith Pascoe of Somerset.
He is recorded as being 5 foot 10 3/4 inches tall (180cm), weighing 159 lb (72 kg) with grey blue eyes and brown hair. He was graded A1 medically.
He is remembered on the Bayeux War Memorial at Normandy, France.
| Unit or location | Role | Posted from | until |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Dorset Scout Section | Scout Section Member | 18 Nov 1940 | 15 Feb 1944 |
| Operation Bulbasket | SAS combatant | 11 Jun 1944 | 03 Jul 1944 |
| Operation Bulbasket | SAS combatant | 11 Jun 1944 | 03 Jul 1944 |
Wood machinist
He was posted to Auxiliary Units at Blandford on 18 Nov 1940. He is recorded as being attached to 3 Division Signals, presumably for pay purposes. He had attended the 5th Emergency Cooks Course starting on 29 Aug 1940 until 9 Oct passing as a Class I cook, obtaining 79% marks. This indicates he joined the Scout Section as its designated cook.
On 10 Nov 1941, he was admitted to Shaftesbury Hospital, remaining there for 9 days. He had suffered a contusion (bruising) to his left eye. This had happened when he was hit with a revolver during unarmed combat training.
In early 1944, he was recruited to 1 SAS alongside other members of his Scout Section.
He was one of three men sent to a French hospital in Poitiers for treatment after being wounded in the attack on the SAS camp. After the Maquis rescued comrades from the same building, unaware of the SAS men, they were moved to prison. Reportedly very badly treated there, it is believed that they were subsequently executed. However, this was unclear even after the war ended, since there were reports they had been sent to another hospital and might perhaps still be PoWs, lost in the choas at the end of the war.
A plea for information on his fate appeared in Aberdeen Weekly Journal 16 Aug 1945;
" APPEAL FOR NEWS - The parents of three British parachutists, one of whom hails from Moray, appeal for any information from returning prisoners of war regarding their sons. The Moray soldier, Trooper Joseph Ogg, whose parents reside at Surradale Cottages, Spynie, Elgan, Moray had many adventures in France and fought with the Macquis before disappearing a year ago. A member of the Special Air Service Regiment, he was parachuted into France early in June 1944. On July 4th 1944, news was received by his parents that he was missing and wounded, believed to be a prisoner of war.
That was the last official news received of him. Neither the War Office or The International Red Cross has been able to secure any information regarding him since. After Trooper Ogg had been dropped in France he became separated from his comrades, was pursued by Germans, hidden by French peasants, and eventually directed to join the Macquis of Vienne in the South of France. There he made the acquaintance of other British parachutists. With other two British lads Cpl. John Williams of London and Trooper Henry Pascoe of Wellington, Somerset, he was wounded on July 3rd 1944 while fighting with the Maquis in Le Verriere Wood, near Poitiers. All three with a number of the Maquis were taken to a French hospital. On the night of their arrival the F.F.I raided the hospital and carried off the wounded Maquis.
The Germans, fearing the British soldiers might be freed in the same way, moved them to a German military hospital at Tours on 8th July 1944. On August 14 the three British parachutists were discharged from the hospital and as far as can be ascertained were taken to Germany as prisoners of war.
No news has been received by the War Office or International Red Cross however, that they were actually prisoners of war, and the parents of all three now seek news from returned prisoners of war who may have met their sons or who may have any information regarding what became of them."
It was not until 3 Nov 1945 that the War Office would formally declare him dead, though his body has never been found.
