Gordon Alfred Cullener – Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 59 Operational Training Unit

Sergeant Gordon Alfred Cullener – Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 59 Operational Training Unit

Family Background and Early Life

Gordon Alfred Cullener

Henry George Cullener and Lucy Catherine Bishop marriage certificate Parish Church of Kingswood

Gordon Alfred Cullener was born in 1920 in Keynsham, Bath, the son of Henry George Cullener and Lucy Catherine Bishop, who had married in 1917 at the Parish Church of Kingswood.

1921 Census

At the time of the 1921 Census, the extended Cullener family was residing at 57 Downend Road, Kingswood, Somerset, the home of Gordon’s grandfather, Herbert H. Cullener.

Herbert, aged forty‑five and born in Bristol, was employed as a Boot and Shoe Operator by Grove Bros., Boot & Shoe Manufacturers, Kingswood. His wife Julia, aged forty‑seven, was also present in the household. Their son, Henry George Cullener, then twenty‑two, worked as a Warehouse Clerk for Robert Clark & Co., Wholesale Clothiers, Milk Street, Bristol. His wife Lucy, aged twenty‑four, was caring for their infant son, Gordon Alfred, then ten months old. The census paints a picture of a close, multi‑generational household rooted in the industrial communities of Somerset and Bristol.

Service with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Gordon later entered wartime service with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, where he trained as a fighter pilot and was posted to No. 59 Operational Training Unit, based at RAF Milfield, Northumberland. The OTU specialised in preparing pilots for operational flying on the Hawker Hurricane, and training was both intensive and hazardous. Night‑flying exercises, in particular, carried significant risks, especially for pilots still mastering the demanding handling characteristics of early‑war fighter aircraft.

Loss on Training Operations, 27 March 1943

Hawker Hurricane I

On 27 March 1943, Sergeant Gordon Alfred Cullener was flying a Hawker Hurricane I on a night training flight from RAF Milfield. During the exercise, the aircraft encountered difficulties and subsequently crashed into the North Sea, resulting in the loss of the young pilot. Such accidents were tragically common during the war, especially in the demanding environment of night‑flying training, where a momentary loss of orientation or mechanical failure could prove fatal.

South Wales Daily Post

Herald of Wales

Gordon’s body was later recovered and brought home to Swansea, where his family had settled. His death was reported in the South Wales Daily Post, while the Herald of Wales carried an account of his funeral, reflecting the deep local sorrow felt at the loss of a young airman whose life had been cut short in service.

Burial and Commemoration

Gordon Alfred Cullener
Oystermouth Cemetery
credit - findagrave

Sergeant Gordon Alfred Cullener was laid to rest at Oystermouth Cemetery, Swansea, where his grave remains a lasting testament to his service and sacrifice. Though he never reached an operational squadron, his contribution formed part of the essential and often perilous training effort that sustained the Royal Air Force throughout the war.