Kiwi searching for hero’s descendants
Private Hayden Cullen would not exist if it wasn’t for a German soldier who saved his great grandfather’s life 99 years ago.
‘‘To be honest, I would probably break down in tears and thank them,’’ Cullen said when asked what he would do if he found that German soldier’s descendants.
Those chances were thanks to social media.
Cullen is in Belgium on a mission to return a wallet, left by that German soldier with his ailing great-grandfather, to the family of its rightful owner.
During the past 99 years, Private Hayden Cullen’s family had attempted to identify the family of the wallet’s owner, but to no avail.
Now, they are pinning their hopes on the power of social media and Hayden Cullen, who is in Belgium to commemorate the Battle of Passchendaele centenary on October 12.
Cullen, a member of the New Zealand Army Band, said the experience would give him the opportunity to appreciate what his great-grandfather, Private Ray Cullen, went through and to track down the family of the German officer – Herr H Held, of Hannover, who saved him.
‘‘We owe them a great deal for what their ancestor did for ours,’’ Hayden Cullen said. real
It was just an empty wallet, but for Hayden Cullen, who is from Cambridge, but based at Burnham, near Christchurch, no price could be put on reuniting it with the family of the German officer.
Speaking from Belgium, Cullensaid the chances were getting a lot better.
He was at a German event marking the Battle of Passchendaele, where a German soldier talked about New Zealand.
It turned out that soldier lived near the village of that original Passchendaele German soldier, whose actions meant that Cullen’s grandfather was born and meant Cullen could eventually be born.
The modern German soldier was going to return with a photo of the wallet and hoped to track down the descendents.
But also helping out was a Facebook post the New Zealand Defence Force made about Cullen’s mission - the post had passed 1000 views and was climbing.
Given the coincidence of meeting the modern German soldier, Cullen was optimistic of success.
In November 1918, Ray Cullen was serving in the New Zealand Machine Gun Corps, part of the New Zealand Division, during the liberation of the French township of Le Quesnoy, which had been in German hands since 1914.
During a German artillery barrage a shell exploded in the machine gun post occupied by him and five of his crew.
Ray Cullen was the only survivor and, seriously wounded, he attempted to get back to friendly lines.
However, he collapsed because of blood loss and was saved when a German officer and his men, who were coming to surrender, stumbled across him.
The German officer instructed his men to make a stretcher from their tunics and they carried Ray Cullen to get medical attention.
Before being marched off to captivity, the German officer gave his wallet to Ray Cullen, which he took back to the family farm outside Te Awamutu after the war. It would also bring a sense of closure on a remarkable battlefield story, he said.
CAMBRIDGE SERVICE
The Cambridge Community Board is holding a wreath laying ceremony to commemorate the Battle for Passchendaele on Thursday, 9am, at the Cenotaph. RSA members to wear medals.