Lieutenant Stuart Douglas CULLEY DSO - Royal Air Force

Lieutenant Stuart Douglas CULLEY Royal Air Force Distinguished Service Order - ( LG dated 2 November 1918 )

Born 23 August 1895 - in Omaha, Nebraska of English father and Canadian mother - educated in California and Vermont
Joined RNAS in Ottawa, 19 April 1917 -
in UK 21 May 1917 -
at Calshot 10 November 1917 -
at Falmouth, 23 February 1918 -
to Felixstowe in autumn of 1918 -

Appointed to permanent commission in the RAF 1 August 1919 in rank of Flying Officer
Promoted Flight Lieutenant, 1 January 1924.
To RAF Depot on transfer to Home Establishment, 10 January 1924.

As of 14 March 1933, S/L S.D. Culley, DSO, posted to No.39 (Bomber) Squadron Risalpur to command

"On August 10 1918 Lt SD Culley flying Sopwith Camel N6812 - shot down German Naval airship N6812 - he had taken off from a lighter being towed by the Destroyer HMS Redoubt"

Here are also two picture postcards from the time, and a brooch believed to have been made from a piece of metal salvaged from the wreckage

 

I have been looking for the Lieutenant's obituary ... I believe he died in 1975 ..... if anybody can find it - I'd appreciate it !

 

The Zeppelin concerned was L53. AFAIK it crashed into the sea, so I don't think the photo here can be of that vessel's wreckage.

Culley's Camel N6812 is preserved in the Imperial War Museum in London.

I would also be interested to know about his later career and when he died.

 

Sorry I forgot to add the source for the photos Adrian !!

http://www.freewebs.com/myfelixstowe/archive4.htm

 

F/L S D Culley was a busy man in 1919,flying Sopwith 2F.1 Camels from HMS Vindictive in the Baltic during the post-Armistice operations there against Russian Bolsheviks and various others:

on 2 October, flying N7119, he bombed the Bolshevik ship Andrei Pervosvanny in dry dock at Kronstadt;

on 6 October, flying N6612, he bombed a railway station near Petrograd;

on 14 October, flying N7140, he bombed Krasnaya Gorka and machine gunned a Bolshevik fort;

on 18 October, flying N7140, he bombed Fort No 5 at Kronstadt;

on 16 October, flying N7106, he bombed a Bolshevik destroyer off Krasnaya Gorka;

on 18 October, flying N7140, he bombed Krasnaya Gorka and attacked a kite balloon;

on 20 October, flying N7140, he bombed Krasnaya Gorka;

on 25 October, flying N6767, he attacked a kite balloon;

on 29 October, flying N8184, he bombed and machine gunned a Bolshevik destroyer.

A busy man!

Gareth

 

Here's a few snippets and his obituary .... seems he ended up living in Italy !!

 

Stuart is a distant relation of mine, possibly my great Granny's cousin. I'm currently trying to research the Culley' s and this info is amazing!