DAVY FULLARTON

Full Name: David McMaster Fullarton (also known as Davie)

Born: 27 May 1884

Came from: Sunderland   Went to: New Brompton

First game: 08 September 1906   Last game: 27 April 1907

Appearances: 42 (42/0)   Goals: 0

Often listed with a birthplace of Ardrossan, Ayrshire, like his older brother, the Argyle manager William Fullarton, this is incorrect. Davy was, in fact, born in Sunderland two years after William was born, and after their father had moved the family from the Scottish coast down to the major English shipbuilding and industrial hub of Sunderland between 1882 and 1884, to follow work.

Fullarton began his career at Sunderland, but did not make a first team appearance, whereas, William did. When William moved to Home Park as manager in 1906, Davy followed him and was virtually ever-present in the back four throughout his single season at Home Park, in the Southern League and he also played in the Western League.

When William was relieved of his managerial duties, for financial reasons, at the end of the 1906-07 campaign, David also left the club. He then spent three seasons with Southern League rivals, New Brompton (the precursor to the modern day Gillingham) making 27 appearances.

He then moved to New Zealand sometime between 1911-13 just before the start of WWI, following William. David's military papers explicitly listed his brother as already settled at a Boys' Training Farm in Nelson. William actually emigrated first, arriving around 1911-1912. His (William's) role was a government appointment. By 1914, he had lived in the country long enough to successfully enter the NZ Civil Service and receive a formal promotion to "Clerk and Head Attendant" at the Nelson institution.

Davy meanwhile joined the New Zealand Engineers, and in February 1916, he boarded the troop transport ship HMNZT 37 (Maunganui) at the port of Wellington to head to the conflict in Europe. He had formally enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) and served initially as a Sapper and later rose to the rank of Sergeant with the 1st Field Company, New Zealand Engineers (Service Number: 4/1782). He fought on the Western Front, where he was awarded the Military Medal (MM) for bravery in action in 1917. The award came for a definitive act of bravery (repelling a breach of his trench), shortly after Passchendaele, during the continuing combat operations near Polygon Wood (Ypres Salient).

At the end of the conflict, de-mobilisation occurred in 1919. Following a period of post-war occupation duties, Sergeant Fullarton travelled to England. Rather than returning on a troopship to New Zealand, he processed his official discharge directly in the UK, paving the way for his return back to his native Sunderland.

He spent his later life working locally back in the north-east, alongside the rest of the Fullarton family. Discharge papers had listed his occupation as a carpenter.

Davy passed away in Sunderland in early 1951, he was 66 years old and had outlived his brother who also passed in Sunderland, in 1940, aged 63 years old.