Arthur Percy Sullivan

The “Shy VC” Who Went Into a River Under Fire to Save Four Men He arrived too late to fight on the Western Front, yet within a year Arthur Percy Sullivan would perform one of the most remarkable rescue actions of the post-First World War era. Under intense enemy fire in North Russia, with his comrades exhausted and the enemy less than 100 yards away, Sullivan repeatedly entered dangerous water to save four men from drowning. His courage earned him the Victoria Cross, but the quiet Australian bank officer later dismissed his own heroism as little worth talking about. That modesty would help earn him a lasting nickname: “the Shy VC.” Arthur Percy Sullivan VC was born on 27 November 1896 at Prospect, South Australia, and grew up at Crystal Brook. He attended Crystal Brook Public School and Gladstone High School before beginning a career with the National Bank of Australasia. When the First World War began, Sullivan was only seventeen and could not enlist without parental consent. By 1918 he was old enough to make the decision himself. On 27 April that year, he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force and received service number 56133. Sullivan sailed for Britain in July 1918, but fate appeared to have denied him the opportunity for active service. He reached England in September, and the Armistice brought the fighting on the Western Front to an end before he could enter combat. For many soldiers that would have marked the beginning of the journey home. Sullivan made a very different choice. In 1919 he volunteered for the British North Russia Relief Force, which had been raised to assist the withdrawal of Allied troops from northern Russia during the Russian Civil War. Sullivan joined the 45th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, serving as Corporal 133003, and was formally discharged from the AIF in order to enlist in the British Army. He was one of roughly 150 Australians who served in the North Russia Relief Force. During operations near the Sheika River in North Russia, Sullivan's platoon was fighting a rearguard action when it was forced to cross by a narrow plank. An officer and three men fell into deep water or swamp during the crossing. Enemy fire was intense, the troops were exhausted, and the opposing force was extremely close. Sullivan did not hesitate. He entered the water and rescued the four men individually, bringing each one to safety. Australian War Memorial The official Victoria Cross citation was published in the Third Supplement to The London Gazette, issue 31572, page 11997. It described Sullivan's conduct as “most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty” and concluded that his action was a “splendid example of heroism.” The citation made clear that without Sullivan's intervention, the four men would probably have drowned. The extraordinary part of Sullivan's story is what happened after the heroism. He knew that he had been awarded the Victoria Cross, but rather than remain in Britain for a royal investiture, he returned to Australia. On 13 July 1920, at Government House in Adelaide, he finally received the Victoria Cross from Edward, Prince of Wales. Sullivan's reluctance to speak about his own actions became so well known that he was remembered as the “Shy VC.” His Victoria Cross is now held by the Australian War Memorial. His wartime service was also recognised by the British War Medal 1914-20 and the Victory Medal. The Australian War Memorial preserves Sullivan's actual named examples of both medals, providing direct recipient-specific evidence of his entitlement. After returning to civilian life, Sullivan resumed his banking career. He married Dorothy Frances Veal in 1928, raised a family, and eventually became manager of the National Bank branch at Casino, New South Wales. He also remained involved in the veteran community and served as president of the local Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League sub-branch. Nearly two decades after his Victoria Cross action, Sullivan was selected for another significant honour. In 1937 he was chosen as the sole Australian Victoria Cross recipient in the Australian Coronation Contingent travelling to Britain for the coronation of King George VI. To serve with the contingent he re-enlisted, this time as a gunner in the Australian artillery. He would never see the coronation. On 9 April 1937, while staying at Wellington Barracks in London, Sullivan suffered a fatal fall near Birdcage Walk and sustained a severe head injury. Contemporary accounts differ over the precise circumstances of the accident, but he died that day aged forty. His death shocked the Australian contingent and attracted attention at the highest levels. He received a full military funeral at Wellington Barracks, attended by dignitaries and nine Victoria Cross recipients. When the Australian contingent later took its place in the coronation procession, a gap was deliberately left where Sullivan should have marched. Anzac Portal Sullivan was also entitled to the King George VI Coronation Medal 1937, but there is an important historical detail. He died more than a month before the coronation itself, and his Coronation Medal was subsequently presented to his widow. The original medal is preserved by the Australian War Memorial alongside his Victoria Cross, British War Medal and Victory Medal. Arthur Percy Sullivan's story is compelling not simply because he received the Victoria Cross, but because of the contrast between the scale of his courage and the modesty with which he carried it. A young Australian bank officer who had missed the Western Front volunteered for another dangerous campaign, entered a river under enemy fire, and saved four lives one after another. He returned home a national hero, yet remained uncomfortable with the attention that followed him. Today, Corporal Arthur Percy Sullivan VC is remembered as one of Australia's Victoria Cross recipients, a soldier of the 45th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, a veteran of the North Russia Relief Force, and the quiet hero whose actions at the Sheika River on 10 August 1919 ensured that four of his comrades came home alive. His Victoria Cross and associated medals survive in the Australian War Memorial, preserving the story of the man history came to know as the Shy VC.