Bull Allen

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Leslie "Bull" Allen at the Battle of Mount Tambu

Bull Allen , actually Leslie Clarence Allen , (* 9. November 1916 in Ballarat East, Victoria , † 11. May 1982 ) was an Australian soldier in World War II and recipient of the American Order of Silver Star and the British Military Medal . He owes his fame to his service in the Battle of Mount Tambu, in which he rescued twelve American soldiers under enemy fire.

Life

Childhood and youth

Bull Allen was born the second son of worker Clarence Walter Allen and his wife Ruby Ethel. His early childhood was marked by domestic violence until he was abandoned at the age of 8 and placed in an orphanage. Allen began working when he was around 12, mostly as a laborer on a farm.

Time in the army

On September 9, 1940, he volunteered for the Australian Imperial Force . He gave his middle name as Clarence and his year of birth as 1918.

He was transferred to North Africa as reinforcement for the 2 / 5th Battalion and used as a stretcher in the D Company. There he got his nickname "Bull" because he attacked like a "bull" in Australian football . During the Libya campaign he showed himself to be a good soldier, but he was taken to the hospital because of an anxiety neurosis . He returned to the battalion shortly before the Syria campaign .

The 2 / 5th Battalion left the Middle East in March 1942, served briefly in Sri Lanka and Australia, and was transferred to Papua New Guinea in October . Despite contracting malaria , Allan was used in the defense of Wau with his battalion. There he was awarded the Military Medal after rescuing several wounded men under heavy gunfire. In April he was promoted to corporal .

After a failed American attack in the Battle of Mount Tambu ( Salamaua Peninsula , Papua New Guinea ), 50 wounded lay on the battlefield. Two medics were killed trying to save her. Allen brought twelve American soldiers to his camp under rifle fire, carrying them one by one on his shoulders. For these services he was awarded the Silver Star Medal ; the American public viewed him as a war hero. The First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt also had a pen friendship with him . He later named his daughter Eleanor after her.

His health suffered from the consequences of the war effort - among other things, he was temporarily unable to speak - and was therefore discharged from military service for medical reasons.

Next life

During his recovery he lived with his uncle. On April 23, 1949, he married the Army nurse Jean Elizabeth Floyd. He worked first as a laborer and later as a nurse in the Ballarat hospital.

After his death

Historians call for Leslie Allen to posthumously receive the Victoria Cross , the highest honor in the Australian Army , for his actions at the Battle of Mount Tambu .

A canteen at the Puckapunyal Army Base was named after him, which was the first time that part of an army base was named after a soldier who did not bear the Victoria Cross .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b In Memory of Bull Allen. Retrieved March 1, 2020 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g Australian Dictionary of Biography: Allen, Leslie Charles (Clarence) (1916–1982). Retrieved March 1, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b Heart Warming Tale of War Hero Who Faced Fire to Save Men from Another Country. Retrieved March 1, 2020 .
  4. ↑ a b c Call for World War II hero Leslie 'Bull' Allen to be posthumously awarded Victoria Cross. Retrieved March 1, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Allen, Bull
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Allen, Leslie Charles
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Australian soldier
DATE OF BIRTH November 9, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH Ballarat East, Victoria
DATE OF DEATH May 11, 1982
Place of death Ballarat East, Victoria