William John Samuel Pullen was born on 4 December 1813 at Devonport. He entered the Navy in 1828, leaving in 1836 to serve as assistant surveyor to the surveyor general in South Australia, where he remained until 1841 surveying the mouth of the Murray River and the adjoining coast. Returning to the Navy in 1842, he was appointed to HMS Columbia and was employed in surveying on the North American Station until 1848. Promoted lieutenant in 1846, Pullen was appointed first lieutenant in HMS Plover on the British Naval Franklin Search Expedition, 1848-1852 (leader Thomas Moore) sailing in HMS Herald of the British Naval Franklin Search Expedition, 1848-1850 (leader Henry Kellett) to join HMS Plover at Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, in July 1849. The two vessels proceeded to Wainwright Inlet where Pullen set out on the British Naval Franklin Search Expedition, 1849-1851, sailing along the coast to the mouth of the Mackenzie River in search of Franklin's missing expedition. After ascending the river as far as Fort McPherson, the expedition was dispersed to spend the winter of 1849 to 1850 at the various Hudson's Bay Company posts in the area. Pullen was accommodated at Fort Simpson by the Arctic explorer John Rae, who was in charge of the Mackenzie River District. In July 1850, the expedition proceeded down the river before continuing the coastal search east as far as Cape Bathurst, where further progress was prevented by ice. Returning to Fort Simpson to spend the winter of 1850 to 1851, the expedition left for York Factory in the spring, sailing to England in the Hudson's Bay Company vessel Prince of Wales .
Promoted commander in 1850, Pullen was appointed to lead the British Naval Franklin Search Expedition, 1852-1854, commanding HMS North Star, the store ship for the British Naval Franklin Search Expedition, 1852-1854 (leader Sir Edward Belcher). North Star spent two winters at Beechey Island and was the only ship of the five in Belcher's search expedition to return to England in 1854, the other four being abandoned on Belcher's orders when beset in the ice.
In 1855, Pullen assumed command of HMS Falcon in operations in the Baltic, advancing to the rank of captain the following year. Between 1857 and 1858, he served in the Middle East, sounding the route for the submarine telegraph cable from Suez to Aden. Between 1859 and 1863, Pullen was employed in the survey of the south and east coasts of Ceylon and of Bermuda. He later served in coastguard ships until he was placed on the retired list in 1870. Promoted rear admiral in 1874, he advanced to the rank of vice admiral in 1879. He died on 11 January 1887 at Torquay.
From the guide to the William Pullen collection, 1850-1854, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)
