Historical records matching Flt. Lieut. Thomas Grey Culling, DSC
view all
Immediate Family
-
father -
mother -
sister
-
sister
-
sister
About Flt. Lieut. Thomas Grey Culling, DSC
World War I: New Zealand's first flying ace and the youngest of the air aces. Thomas Grey Culling was born at Dunedin in the Otago region of New Zealand South Island on 31 May 1896. His parents were Thomas Shepherd Culling and Fanny Eliza Culling (née Grey) who had married at St. John's Church in Milton on 8 October 1889. He was the youngest of four children and the only son. The family moved to Auckland in 1906 and Thomas attended Kings College from 1909 to 1913 and was also a member of the College Rifles Rugby Football Club. When war was declared in 1914 18-year-old Thomas volunteered. However his father had seen how damaged the troops who returned from the Boer War had been and protested due to his age. It would be August of 1915 before Thomas left for England. Once there he joined the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and by September of 1916 had completed all of his training and was approved for foreign service. Thomas became recognised for his skill in engaging the enemy during aerial dogfights. When the Sopwith Triplane's were introduced in December of 1916 Thomas was assigned to fly No. N5444 over France. In April of 1917 he scored three victories, the last one harrying a formation of 14 German aircraft for which he received the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC). His citation reads, In recognition of his services on the 23rd April, 1917, when with two other machines he engaged a formation of nine hostile scouts and two-seater machines. Two two-seater machines were shot down, one of them by Flt. Lieut. Culling unassisted (London Gazette, 22 June 1917, p. 6256). In May of 1917 Thomas was promoted to Flight Lieutenant. But his luck was about to run out as three weeks later, on the morning of 8 June 1917, his Triplane was shot down just north of Warneton. After 141 flying hours and over 68 air operations Thomas was killed. His body was never recovered. Thomas is commemorated on the Arras Flying Services Memorial in France. His father died in 1920 and his mother in 1935. Both are buried at Purewa Cemetery in Auckland. Bio by Debbie McCauley (18 October 2024).
Memorials to Thomas Grey Culling
- College Rifles’ Roll of Honour.
- King’s College Roll of Honour and King’s College Memorial Chapel (two new stained-glass windows donated by his mother Fanny).
- Remuera Primary School gates.
- St Aidan’s Church memorial cross.
- Warbirds of Wanaka Fighter Ace Wall.
Sources
- Births, Deaths and Marriages New Zealand.
- Cenotaph: https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/...
- Commonwealth War Graves: http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/746354/CULLING,%20THOMAS...
- Evening Post (31 August 1917, p. 2).
- Evening Post (19 June 1918, p. 7).
- London Gazette, issue no. 30147 published on 22 June 1917 (p. 6256).
- Otago Daily Times (29 June 1917, p. 6).
- Remuera Heritage: https://remueraheritage.org.nz/story/ww1-flight-lieutenant-thomas-g...
- Sortehaug, Paul (Dec-Jan 2014). The Air Aces - Thomas Grey Culling. Pacific Wings (p. 50).
- Supplement to the London Gazette (22 June 1917).
- The Aerodrome: http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/nzealand/culling.php
view all
Flt. Lieut. Thomas Grey Culling, DSC's Timeline
| 1896 |
May 31, 1896
|
Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand
|
|
| 1917 |
June 8, 1917
Age 21
|
Warneton, Departement du Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France
|
|
|
June 8, 1917
Age 21
|
Arras Flying Services Memorial, [Royal Naval Air Service Panel.], Arras, Departement du Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France
|