CULLEN, Frank
| Service Number: | 6059 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 11 September 1916, Enlisted at Adelaide |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 27th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Templers, South Australia, 16 June 1886 |
| Home Town: | Mallala, Mallala, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Wasleys School, Wasleys, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Butcher |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 25 December 1917, aged 31 years |
| Cemetery: |
Prowse Point Cemetery, Belgium Plot 111, Row b, Grave 2 |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Mallala District of Grace WW1 Roll of Honor, Mallala War Memorial, Wasleys and District Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 11 Sep 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 6059, 27th Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Adelaide | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 6059, 27th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Afric embarkation_ship_number: A19 public_note: '' | |
| 6 Nov 1916: | Embarked Private, 6059, 27th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Afric, Adelaide |
Help us honour Frank Cullen's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Carol Foster
Place of birth as per Book/Page 586/170. Attestation papers states the place of birth as Templers a small town just a short distance north of Willaston
Son of Michael Cullen and Mary (nee Warden) Cullen of Balaklava, previously Mallala, SA; brother Sydney Arnold Cullen, Doris Elvera Cullen, Harold William Thomas Cullen, Allan Clifton Cullen and Leslie Leonard Cullen
Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal
Biography contributed
NOTHING IN MY HAND I BRING SIMPLY TO THE CROSS I CLING
Frank was the son of Michael Cullen and Mary Worden. He was born on the 16th June, 1896 at Willaston. His father, Michael, a butcher by trade, was awarded a Bravery Medal when he saved a nine year old boy who was being attacked by a cow in Willaston. Michael played for the Mallala Football Club and was a member of the 1912 premiership side. The eldest of six children, Frank had four brothers and one sister. At the time of enlisting, on September 11th, 1916, he was 20 years and two months old, living at Templers. He was also employed as a butcher. He stood 5ft 6 ½ inches tall and had blue eyes and brown hair.
He enlisted in the 7th Training Battalion. Not long afterwards on 7th November, he embarked on board the “Afric”. He disembarked in Plymouth in January of 1917.
The “Cullen Chair”, a Morris chair, which was presented to the family of Pte Cullen. It was found in a secondhand shop in NSW and donated to the Museum. It has since been recovered in a material more similar to the original.
In February, 1917, he was admitted to Parkhouse and then the Fargo Military Hospital with severe bronchitis. After recovering he was shipped to France in September. He joined the 27th Battalion in October. Tragically, he was killed in action on Christmas Day, 1917.
He is buried at the Prowse Point Military Cemetery, Belgium.
Pte Cullen was awarded the Victory Medal, the British War Medal and the 1914/15 Star.
Courtesy of Laura Parsons
Click images to start slideshow.