William Joseph CULLEN

CULLEN, William Joseph

Service Number: 623
Enlisted: 14 July 1915
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 31st Infantry Battalion
Born: Carlton, Victoria, Australia, 18 May 1897
Home Town: Brunswick, Moreland, Victoria
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Stove Fitter
Died: Killed in Action, France, 19 July 1916, aged 19 years
Cemetery: Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery
Plot IV, Row E, Grave No 4
Memorials: Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, City of Brunswick Honour Roll, West Brunswick State School Honour Roll
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World War 1 Service

14 Jul 1915: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 623, Depot Battalion
9 Nov 1915: Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 623, 31st Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Wandilla embarkation_ship_number: A62 public_note: ''
9 Nov 1915: Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 623, 31st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Wandilla, Melbourne
19 Jul 1916: Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 623, 31st Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix)

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Biography

"...623 Private William Joseph Cullen, 31st Battalion, from Brunswick, Victoria. An 18 year old stove fitter prior to enlistment on 14 July 1915, he embarked for overseas with C Company from Melbourne on 9 November 1915 aboard HMAT Wandilla. He was killed in action at Fromelles, France on 19 July 1916. After the war his grave could not be located and he was commemorated on the Villers Bretonneux Memorial, France. In 2008 a burial ground was located at Pheasant Wood, France containing the bodies of 250 British and Australian soldiers including Pte Cullen. All of the remains were reburied in the newly created Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery. At the time of the official dedication of the new cemetery on 19 July 2010, ninety-six of the Australians, including Pte Cullen, had been identified through a combination of anthropological, archaeological, historical and DNA information. Work is continuing on identifying the other remains relocated from the burial ground and buried in the new cemetery as unknown soldiers." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)

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