Frank Pullen

Frank Pullen formally retired in 1988 and he died, aged 76, at his livery yard in Orpington, Kent, and is buried at London Road Cemetery, Bromley. Racing enthusiast Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, whose nieces were patients of Royal Earlswood Hospital where Pullen's relatives James Henry Pullen and grandfather William Pullen were also notable residents, sent Frank's widow a letter of condolence upon hearing of his death.

Pullen was also able to indulge in his lifelong passion of horse racing, training and breeding, adopting the colours Chocolate and Blue for his racing silks. His friends included Peter Bromley, racing commentator, and Pullen went on to be a popular owner with a string of race horses, most famously at Josh Gifford's yard in Findon, Sussex. It was as such that he was interviewed by the Radio Times magazine ("Six owners in search of a winner" by Russell Twisk) in 1972, having especially bought a horse on Josh Gifford's recommendation for that year's Grand National at Aintree. Former jockey Bob Champion bought racehorse "Just Martin" for Pullen, who had built Champions yard and Pullen became Champions first owner when he took up training.

Pullen also opened a series of general hardware shops, selling a wide range of products. These included his own brand of bleach "Pulbro", "Pink" parafin, wallpapers and paints, DIY and home appliances, cutlery and crockery, dustbins and ice-creams . Branches covered south London, the first of these being on Catford Broadway. Pullen also owned and rented out many lock-up garages. Pullen became a millionaire and he enjoyed his wealth, and by July 1965 had bought his first new Rolls-Royce - Silver Cloud III Coupe from James Young, a luxury coachbuilder located in Bromley.

After he was demobilised from the army in 1948, Pullen started in business as a builder in a war-torn South London and became a member of the National House Building Council. Pullen became one of South London's leading property developers, and incorporated his business in 1962, using the slogan "We Build To Please" . Pullen specialised at first in renovating houses before concentrating on new builds; his first being "Karen Court", Blyth Road, Bromley, a block of three maisonettes. Other early examples of Pullen's can be seen with the bungalows of Clarence Road, Croydon. Pullen soon progressed to blocks of flats (such as Tina Court, Knollys Road, Streatham and at Ravensbourne Park Crescent, Catford, along with Colin Court).

Francis Henry Pullen (8 September 1915 – 17 January 1992) was an English businessperson and racehorse owner.