Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Story of Roy Cullen, MID

Roy, born in Liverpool England, immigrated to Australia & was working as a concrete labourer when he enlisted in the AIF at Broken Hill NSW on 17 Oct 1939 at the age of 35

He was allocated to the 2/3rd Fld Company as T/CPL on 13 Dec

The 2/3rd Coy embarked on the '3rd Convoy' for the Middle East in May, however, with the Italians entering the war, the convoy was deviated to the UK via Cape Town, arriving in Gourock Scotland in Jun

Roy spent the next two months in hospital before rejoining his unit in Sep. He was appointed L/SGT on 9 Sep & the unit embarked for the Middle East on 14 Nov arriving at El Kantara on 30 Dec

After a period of training in the desert, the 2/3rd moved out to the recently captured port town of Tobruk on 29 Jan 1941. Here the unit was employed in clearing Italian minefields & the repair & maintenance of the Derna-Tobruk road, while their M/T Sec was to obtain & repair Italian vehicles for their anticipated move to Marsa Berga

The Germans began their advance through Cyrenaica from El Agheila & 2/3rd was involved with demolitions to cover the withdrawal of the 20th Aus Inf Brigade into Tobruk

Siege of Tobruk : 9 Div fell back to Tobruk where the 2/3rd carried out mine work, construction of defensive position, rifle & tank ranges, unloading of ships, supply of water, manning defensive positions & accompanying infantry fighting patrols of no-man’s land

On 12 Apr, HQ Sec under SGT Cullen built a timber bridge over an A/T ditch for ease of access. At build completion, the part was fired on & forced to withdraw & in consequence, destroy the bridge. SGT Cullen decided to retaliate & start his "bush artillery", first using an Italian 100mm gun

Tobruk War Cemetary Memorial : In Apr, 2/3rd engaged in the construction of the memorial. The monument stood 21ft high & was 16ft wide at the base. It was made solely from materials left behind by the Italians after their evacuation of Tobruk. The main item was cement & it was decided the monument should be concrete. A cross was set to each of the four sides at the top. These were made of metal scavenged from crashed fighter planes. The piece of marble set into the base was from the counter of a butchers shop that had been bombed. The monument was designed by 9 Div RAE HQ. VX39192 LIEUT Eastick & SGT Cullen worked tirelessly on the project until it was completed on 28 Sep

Two Observation Post’s (one 40ft & 0ne 60ft) to use as lookouts while work was being done in the area. The Germans were apparently unhappy with these new OP’s & from the onset, continually targeted them with artillery fire. 2/3rd’s OC noted in hi war diary : "Fritz certainly dislikes the pattern of the OP's built. Guide ropes & three legs shot away. We are wondering if Jerry will run out of shells before we run out of rope & legs" & "Jerry has been throwing terrible hate at the OP's. Nearly 2000 shells at the two OP's in 8 days"

Roy received a Mention in Despatches for his work on the monument & LIEUT Eastick received an MBE for his efforts. Sadly, the memorial was later destroyed, although some pieces were used to re-make another example later

In Oct the 2/3rd handed over their positions to their Polish & Indian counterparts before being evacuated from the besieged town on the 18th

They sailed to Alexandria where 9 Div was transferred to Palestine & then northern Syria where, as part of the British Ninth Army, it was responsible for guarding the Turkish-Syrian frontier

In Jul 1942, 9 Div was rushed from Syria to the El Alamein area & held the northern sector for almost four months during the First & Second Battles of El Alamein, where the 2/3rds primary role was laying & clearing minefields in conjunction with infantry operations

9 Div began embarking for its return to Australia on 24 Jan 1943, Roy arriving back in Sydney at end of Feb for a period of leave & rest

Following leave the unit reassembled at Wallgrove NSW before moving to Keira in north QLD were they began to prepare for tropical service

In Aug the 2/3rd moved to Milne Bay in New Guinea to prepare for a landing at Lae in Sep attached to the 20th Brigade Group. Roy was not involved in the amphibious landings at Lae as he remined in Australia unwell in hospital. He eventually joined his unit at Lae on 27 Sep

During his time with the 2/3rds first deployment to New Guinea, he was involved in the amphibious landings at Scarlet Beach & the Battle of Finschhafen during the Huon Peninsula campaign

Roy was spent the ensuing months in & out of hospital with pneumonia & malaria until the 2/3rd returned to Townsville in Mar 1944 where he spent the remainder of 1944 in & out of hospital with malaria & dermatitis until he was finally classed medically unfit for further service, then being discharged on 23 Dec 1944

In 1946, Roy was part of the Guard of Honour during the visit by the Governor-General of Australia, H.R.H. Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester to Broken Hill & the Zinc Refinery where he was working at the time

Story of Roy Cullen, MID

Roy, born in Liverpool England, immigrated to Australia & was working as a concrete labourer when he enlisted in the AIF at Broken Hill NSW on 17 Oct 1939 at the age of 35

He was allocated to the 2/3rd Fld Company as T/CPL on 13 Dec

The 2/3rd Coy embarked on the '3rd Convoy' for the Middle East in May, however, with the Italians entering the war, the convoy was deviated to the UK via Cape Town, arriving in Gourock Scotland in Jun

Roy spent the next two months in hospital before rejoining his unit in Sep. He was appointed L/SGT on 9 Sep & the unit embarked for the Middle East on 14 Nov arriving at El Kantara on 30 Dec

After a period of training in the desert, the 2/3rd moved out to the recently captured port town of Tobruk on 29 Jan 1941. Here the unit was employed in clearing Italian minefields & the repair & maintenance of the Derna-Tobruk road, while their M/T Sec was to obtain & repair Italian vehicles for their anticipated move to Marsa Berga

The Germans began their advance through Cyrenaica from El Agheila & 2/3rd was involved with demolitions to cover the withdrawal of the 20th Aus Inf Brigade into Tobruk

Siege of Tobruk : 9 Div fell back to Tobruk where the 2/3rd carried out mine work, construction of defensive position, rifle & tank ranges, unloading of ships, supply of water, manning defensive positions & accompanying infantry fighting patrols of no-man’s land

On 12 Apr, HQ Sec under SGT Cullen built a timber bridge over an A/T ditch for ease of access. At build completion, the part was fired on & forced to withdraw & in consequence, destroy the bridge. SGT Cullen decided to retaliate & start his "bush artillery", first using an Italian 100mm gun

Tobruk War Cemetary Memorial : In Apr, 2/3rd engaged in the construction of the memorial. The monument stood 21ft high & was 16ft wide at the base. It was made solely from materials left behind by the Italians after their evacuation of Tobruk. The main item was cement & it was decided the monument should be concrete. A cross was set to each of the four sides at the top. These were made of metal scavenged from crashed fighter planes. The piece of marble set into the base was from the counter of a butchers shop that had been bombed. The monument was designed by 9 Div RAE HQ. VX39192 LIEUT Eastick & SGT Cullen worked tirelessly on the project until it was completed on 28 Sep

Two Observation Post’s (one 40ft & 0ne 60ft) to use as lookouts while work was being done in the area. The Germans were apparently unhappy with these new OP’s & from the onset, continually targeted them with artillery fire. 2/3rd’s OC noted in hi war diary : "Fritz certainly dislikes the pattern of the OP's built. Guide ropes & three legs shot away. We are wondering if Jerry will run out of shells before we run out of rope & legs" & "Jerry has been throwing terrible hate at the OP's. Nearly 2000 shells at the two OP's in 8 days"

Roy received a Mention in Despatches for his work on the monument & LIEUT Eastick received an MBE for his efforts. Sadly, the memorial was later destroyed, although some pieces were used to re-make another example later

In Oct the 2/3rd handed over their positions to their Polish & Indian counterparts before being evacuated from the besieged town on the 18th

They sailed to Alexandria where 9 Div was transferred to Palestine & then northern Syria where, as part of the British Ninth Army, it was responsible for guarding the Turkish-Syrian frontier

In Jul 1942, 9 Div was rushed from Syria to the El Alamein area & held the northern sector for almost four months during the First & Second Battles of El Alamein, where the 2/3rds primary role was laying & clearing minefields in conjunction with infantry operations

9 Div began embarking for its return to Australia on 24 Jan 1943, Roy arriving back in Sydney at end of Feb for a period of leave & rest

Following leave the unit reassembled at Wallgrove NSW before moving to Keira in north QLD were they began to prepare for tropical service

In Aug the 2/3rd moved to Milne Bay in New Guinea to prepare for a landing at Lae in Sep attached to the 20th Brigade Group. Roy was not involved in the amphibious landings at Lae as he remined in Australia unwell in hospital. He eventually joined his unit at Lae on 27 Sep

During his time with the 2/3rds first deployment to New Guinea, he was involved in the amphibious landings at Scarlet Beach & the Battle of Finschhafen during the Huon Peninsula campaign

Roy was spent the ensuing months in & out of hospital with pneumonia & malaria until the 2/3rd returned to Townsville in Mar 1944 where he spent the remainder of 1944 in & out of hospital with malaria & dermatitis until he was finally classed medically unfit for further service, then being discharged on 23 Dec 1944

In 1946, Roy was part of the Guard of Honour during the visit by the Governor-General of Australia, H.R.H. Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester to Broken Hill & the Zinc Refinery where he was working at the time