Arthur James Pullen was born on 15 March 1882, the youngest of the six children of William Arthur Pullen (1842-1891) and Sarah Pullen née Kragh (1849-1903). The birth of Arthur Pullen was registered in the 1st quarter of 1882 in the Reigate registration district, Surrey. His five siblings were: Florence Pullen (1873-1950); Ellen Pullen (1876-1909); William John Pullen (b.1876); Sophia Pullen (1878-1939) and Mary Jane Pullen (1880-1931).
On 9 April 1882 he was baptised at St Mary's Church, Reigate, where in the baptismal register not only was his date of birth recorded but also that his family was shown as living in West Street, Reigate and that his father was described as a labourer.
In the 1891 census he was shown as a scholar, aged 9 years, living at 32 Cromwell Road, Reigate, with his widowed mother who was described as a cook, his brother William, an errand boy and his sister Mary, a scholar.
He was educated Dalmain Road School, Forest Hill, SE London and on 10 October 1898 he enlisted as a Private in the Royal Marines Light Infantry, service number PO/9934, He was aged just 16 years and 6 months, but he incorrectly gave his date of birth as 15 February 1880 to appear to be two years older in order to be accepted. On the night of the 1901 he was shown as aged 21 years, a Private in the Royal Marines Light Infantry serving aboard HMS Duke of Wellington that was stationed in Portsmouth Harbour, Hampshire.
His daughter, Ivy Lauretta Richards (1910-1997) was born on 10 July 1910 in Lewisham, but it was not until 4th quarter of 1911 that he married her mother, Alice Maud Richards (1886-1939), in the Lewisham registration district. Their three other children were: Arthur William Pullen (1912-1983; Albert Edward Pullen (1914-1998) and Francis Henry Pullen (1915-1992).
He left the Royal Marines Light Infantry after 13 years of service and joined the Reserve. He was employed at Woolwich Arsenal until June 1916 when he rejoined the Royal Marines Light Infantry with the service number CH/13902.
From the De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour, 1914-1919, we learn that he was accidentally drowned, aged 34 years, on 15 February 1917 by the capsizing of a small boat he was in when returning to his ship, the HMS Roberts, a guard ship stationed at Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. His death was not registered until the 2nd quarter of 1917 in the Yarmouth registration district, Norfolk, showing his incorrect age as 37 years and his body was buried on 23 June 1917 in Plot D, Grave 3183 in the Ladywell Cemetery, Ladywell Road, London, SE13 7HY. As he has no headstone on his grave, he is commemorated as 'PRIVATE A. J. PULLEN RMLI' on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's screenwall at the Heroes Corner in the cemetery.
On 27 September 1917 his widow was awarded a weekly pension of £1-8s-9d for herself and their four children. He is also commemorated on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's website, on the Lewisham War Memorials website and on the A Street Near You website.
Our Picture Source is an ancestry.co.uk webpage created in August 2021 by Derek Pullen, a grandson of Private Arthur James Pullen.
Credit for this entry to: Andrew Behan.
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