Arthur Sullivan

Who was Arthur Sullivan?

Arthur Percy Sullivan VC was a banker, soldier, and an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Born in 1896 at Crystal Brook, South Australia, Sullivan volunteered for service with the First Australian Imperial Force during the First World War. The war was effectively over by the time he arrived in Europe. After being discharged from the AIF in 1919, he joined the British Army so that he could serve with the North Russia Relief Force as part of the Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in rescuing some of his fellow soldiers from a swamp while under enemy fire. Demobilised from the army after completing his service, he resumed his civilian career as a banker. He was in England for the coronation of King George VI as part of the Australian Coronation Contingent in 1937 when he died of head injuries received in a fall in London.