World War I On 27 April 1918, Sullivan attended a fund-raising parade in
Port Pirie for the Returned Soldiers' Appeal. After the parade, the attendees congregated at the town recreation grounds, where a sports carnival was held, and volunteers for the
Australian Imperial Force (AIF) were encouraged to come forward. Sullivan enlisted that day as a
private in the AIF and was allocated as a general reinforcement. He underwent training at
Mitcham Camp in Adelaide between 14 May and 4 June, and was then farewelled in Maitland at an event similar to those he had organised for other recruits before their departure. He embarked with about 700 others on the troopship HMAT A74
Marathon in
Melbourne on 23 July bound for the United Kingdom. The convoy in which the
Marathon travelled sailed via
Albany, Western Australia,
Durban and
Cape Town, South Africa, and
Freetown, Sierra Leone. Upon arriving in
Tilbury in the UK on 27 September, Sullivan was briefly allocated as a reinforcement to the
10th Battalion before transferring to the
Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery training camp at
Heytesbury,
Wiltshire, on 5 October 1918. He was still in training when the
Armistice was declared on 11 November 1918, and Sullivan therefore saw no action in World War I.
Russia While posted to the camp at
Heytesbury, Sullivan contracted
gonorrhea and was hospitalised at
Bulford Camp between 25 November 1918 and 11 March 1919. Upon discharge from hospital he was transferred to a training battalion at
Codford, and on 23 March he was promoted to acting
corporal, and employed as a camp orderly room corporal. He was keen for a tour of active duty with the
North Russia Relief Force (NRRF) as part of the
Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. This intervention had begun after the
Bolsheviks had
overthrown the Russian government and made peace with the
Central Powers in 1917. Allied troops had become involved in the ongoing civil war, and after the Armistice in November 1918, their involvement continued, albeit with poorly defined objectives. In March 1919, the NRRF was conceived to intervene against the Bolsheviks and create a situation where the original force could be withdrawn. Although no Australian contingent was being sent with the NRRF, it was recruiting amongst Australians then in the UK, and a recruiting officer visited Codford in April. Sullivan was attracted by the high pay and potential for adventure. The Australian government limited recruitment to single Australians who were willing to forgo their right to repatriation. Sullivan was discharged from the AIF on 28 May 1919, and enlisted in the
British Army on the same day as a corporal. The NRRF was an 8,000-strong force of two
brigades that included about 150 Australians who had been awaiting repatriation from the UK. Sullivan was allotted to the 45th Battalion, the
Royal Fusiliers (45th RF), part of the NRRF brigade commanded by Brigadier General
Lionel Sadleir-Jackson. The Australians were permitted to continue wearing the Australian uniform, and wore the NRRF
colour patch on their sleeve. The commanding officer of the 45th RF was Lieutenant Colonel Charles Davies, an Australian who had commanded the
32nd Battalion on the
Western Front. Sullivan and the other Australians went into camp at
Sandling in Kent where they prepared for their deployment. The Australians who volunteered for the NRRF were concentrated in two units: the 45th RF, and the 201st Company,
Machine Gun Corps. s|alt=a black and white photograph of soldiers Sullivan sailed directly from
Leith to Russia with an advance party on board the cargo ship
Steigerwald on 9 June, and, travelling via
Murmansk, landed at
Arkhangelsk on 20 June. A 50-man detachment of the advance party was almost immediately sent up the
Dvina River by paddle steamer to the village of
Pinega, where they stayed for five days, ostensibly to quell rioting, although they actually encountered no trouble. They returned downstream to the village of
Osinovo where they were reunited with the rest of the advance party. Osinovo was about behind the frontline at the village of
Seltso, and the camp contained about 4,000 troops. At Osinovo, they went into camp with the rest of the advance force, and underwent intensive training. On the river was a
flotilla of British
monitors and
gunboats. The main body of the NRRF arrived in Arkhangelsk on 11 July, following two mutinies by British-led
White Russian battalions in the area. The Bolsheviks held a fortified line about south of Osinovo.
Dvina offensive In August the NRRF was ordered to advance down the Dvina River to attack the Bolsheviks. About 4,000 men of the NRRF, supported by the river flotilla, artillery and aircraft, were set against about 6,000 Bolshevik troops of the 3rd Brigade of the
18th Division, also supported by artillery. D Company of the 45th RF, which included Sullivan and about 20 other Australians, was to push down the western side of the Dvina and take the villages of Sludka and Lipovets from the rear. Other columns were to attack other villages on the river. The D Company column included machine gun sections,
mortars,
mountain guns and some cavalry. They were ferried across the river to the village of Yakovlevskoye and set off on the afternoon of 7 August. They then undertook a wide-sweeping approach march of nearly through a thick forest to be in position for the attack at 12:00 on 10 August. The aims of the overall offensive were three-fold: to lower Bolshevik morale; to push back the Bolshevik river flotilla so that
mines could be laid to impede any follow-up of the imminent British withdrawal; and to improve the morale of the anti-Bolshevik forces. Sludka was the column's first objective, but on 9 August, scouts reported that the location of a swamp made a direct attack on the village impossible. As a result, the column pushed further south to attack the village of Kochamika, after which they would turn north and capture Sludka. The approach march began at 06:00 on 10 August, and the men slogged through the mud to positions at the edge of the forest by 11:00. Thirty minutes later, the British artillery, the river flotilla and aircraft began bombarding Kochamika. At 12:00, the D Company column, which included Sullivan's 16 Platoon, launched its assault, although without the support of the mountain guns and cavalry that had been left behind owing to the difficult terrain. With
bayonets fixed, the force easily put the stunned Bolshevik defenders to flight. As soon as the village was taken, they came under fire from the Bolshevik river flotilla. |alt=a bronze Cross pattée suspended from a crimson ribbon D Company then pushed northwards, capturing several hamlets and many Bolshevik prisoners, although D Company's commander was killed by river gunboat fire. After scouting out Sludka, a successful assault was mounted on that village as well, while another column led by A Company captured Lipovets. The D Company column then joined A Company at Lipovets aiming to then reunite with the rest of the force, which had been unsuccessfully attacking the village of Seltso from the north. The Bolsheviks landed around 100 sailors between the two Allied columns, cutting off the southerly column including A and D Companies. Without their commander and running low on ammunition, the remaining officers decided to try to break out rather than push on towards Seltso. Impeded by their own wounded, over 500
prisoners-of-war, and local townspeople forced to accompany the column to stop them informing the Bolsheviks, the column made slow progress. Sullivan's 16 Platoon was designated as the
rearguard. About 02:30 on 11 August, having covered in eight hours, the column crossed the Sheika River, which at this point resembled a deep swamp about wide. The crossing was over a crude single-plank bridge. Sullivan's platoon was holding the near bank. As the long column crossed in single file, it was hit by Bolshevik rifle and machine gun fire at a range of less than . The fire from the
ambush increased as the rearguard crossed, and four men fell into the swamp and were in danger of drowning owing to exhaustion. Despite the intense Bolshevik gunfire and already nearly across the river himself, Sullivan immediately set about rescuing them. The first man that Sullivan saved from the swamp was Lieutenant
Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, Lord Settrington, who had been wounded prior to falling off the bridge. He was the eldest son of the
8th Duke of Richmond and heir to the dukedoms of
Richmond,
Lennox and
Gordon. He died of his wounds two weeks later in hospital at
Bereznik. The second and third soldiers rescued were similarly pulled out of the swamp by Sullivan after either being hit or avoiding enemy fire. The fourth man was some distance away and Sullivan waded out with a piece of broken handrail from the temporary bridge that the soldier was able to grab and be pulled to safety. All four would have drowned without Sullivan's action. The fusiliers returned fire from the far bank, and suppressed the Bolshevik fire. After the river crossing, some members of the column broke off into smaller groups, but all remaining members made their way back to the British lines at Troitsa about 07:00. Total British casualties during the overall attack were less than 30 killed with over 100 wounded. For his actions on 11 August, Sullivan was recommended for the
Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to a member of the British armed forces. Two other Australians were awarded the
Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM), second only to the VC, for their actions at the river crossing. British forces successfully evacuated from North Russia by late September, leaving Troitsa by 10 September, and sailing from Arkhangelsk on 27 September, with Sullivan having spent 100 days in Russia. On 26 September, Sullivan's VC was formally announced in
The London Gazette. The citation read: When told of his award, Sullivan said that his comrades were also worthy of recognition and stated that his VC should be
raffled, although the latter did not occur.
Return to Australia The Australians arrived in
Plymouth on 9 October, and were then sent to a repatriation camp near
Winchester. After a rowdy night out on leave following their arrival, a British sergeant tried to get the names of all the miscreants in his notebook. When questioned about his name, Sullivan replied, "Corporal Sullivan VC to you, you
pommie bastard". Despite the insubordination, no action was taken against him. Sullivan gave only one interview about his VC exploits, and was modest and unassuming, saying that it was "not much to talk about", and that he had been lucky. He remained reluctant to talk about his VC actions, and became known as the "Shy VC". The NRRF was demobilised upon its return to the UK. Sullivan wished to return to Australia immediately without waiting for his
investiture by
King George V. He left England on 1 November aboard the troopship
Nestor, and travelling the reverse of the route he had followed in 1918, Sullivan returned to
Adelaide, the South Australian capital, on 12 December where he was greeted as a hero and afforded a reception at the
Adelaide Town Hall. During the voyage he became friends with a Tasmanian VC recipient,
Walter Brown. On his return to Maitland, the Maitland Patriotic Society held one last welcome home event, on 6 January 1920, at which Sullivan was the guest of honour. On hearing of his VC, the National Bank decided to give Sullivan a
gratuity of
A£100, which was enough to pay for a small house in Adelaide. He was presented with his VC at
Government House, Adelaide, on 13 July 1920 by
Edward, the
Prince of Wales, during his
royal tour of Australia. The prince smiled at Sullivan and quipped "Aren't you the man who ran away from father?" Soon after his investiture, he became seriously ill with
malaria, which he had contracted while in Russia, but he soon recovered. For his service in World War I and the Russian Civil War, in addition to the VC, he was also awarded the
British War Medal and
Victory Medal. ==Later life==