TALE OF BOMB

Wairarapa Times-Age, 6 May 1941, Page 6

TALE OF BOMB

4 COURAGEOUS SAILOR FINED FOR TAMPERING. “SEEMED RIGHT AT TIME.” This is the story of Leading-Signal-man Arthur John Pullen, R.N., and the bomb, writes Stuart Young in the “Daily Mail.” The bomb was a timebomb. It weighed 1101 b, and was lodged in the floorboards of a house in South London. The street was cleared. Arthur Pullen sawed the bomb out, trundled it in a barrow to some waste ground a quarter of a mile away, carried it to the middle of the land, and dumped it there, where it could do no harm. Cheering, the bombed-out people went back home. But Arthur Pullen had to go to the Police Court, where he was fined £3 for "removing and tampering with a bomb dropped from an enemy aircraft.” Mr Pullen had nothing to say about’ his action except, “It seemed the right thing to do at the time.” But other people were less reserved —and this is what they said: — Mrs Pullen said she told him about the bomb at dinner-time. A few minutes afterwarfl Arthur and his son Harry, aged 17, slipped out of the house with a saw. Mrs Jackson, who lives in the street where the bomb fell, said: “Word went round that Mr Pullen was moving- the bomb. Everybody in the district knows him and a lot of people flocked round, but his boy kept them back so there would be no danger. It took a long time to saw away the boards. Then Mr Pullen got a length of wire and tied it round the bomb. “He hitched one end round the railings outside and hoisted until he could get. hold of the bomb. It seemed to be buried half under the ground floor. Meanwhile someone had brought a barrow. The bomb looked a big one —three or four feet long—from where we were, but Mr Pullen hoisted it on to his shoulder and got it into the barrow. It made quite a bump as it went in the barrow. “Then he set'out for a big piece of waste ground. This is more than 400 yards from where the bomb was. but Mr Pullen went round back streets. One of the men went in front to tell people to keep out of the way and Harry walked behind to stop people from catching up. It was a funny procession. “When he got to the waste ground Mr Pullen had to carry the bomb quite a way. You could see it was heavy, and when he came back sweat was pouring down his face.” It was then that someone ran to Mrs Pullen to tell her, “Your old man’s gone off with that bomb.” When Arthur and Harry came home their dinner was burned. But Mi’s Jackson took the story further. She continued: “We all cheered Mr Pullen and we are very sorry to hear he has been fined. As soon as we knew of it two or three of us women went round all the houses collecting to pay the fine. It was not long before we had the money. I hope Mr Pullen will accept it because the fine will be stopped from his pay." Mrs Jackson added, reflectively’: “I suppose it was against the law to move the bomb, but you know there was no guard on the house and children were slipping in to sec it. Ono of my boys told me he had been to have a look at it. I was terrified. And then Mr Pullen's sister-in-law lives just across the road. "Anyway, all of us in that street arc grateful tn Mr Pullen, and we all hope he won’t get. into trouble with the Navy.” Leading-iSgnalman Pullen, who is 4.3 years of age. belongs to a submarine depot, ship, is a reservist with 26 years’ service in the Navy, and was recalled when war broke'out. He has foui’ children and keeps smiling, although his family have been bombed out of one home and their present house has had its windows blasted out.