Russian AnzacsBekza Gasieff
| Alias | Gassieff |
|---|---|
| Russian spelling | Бекза Гасиев |
| Born | 1881 |
| Place | Gizel, Vladikavkaz, Ossetia, the Caucasus |
| Ethnic origin | Ossetian |
| Religion | Russian Orthodox |
| Family | Wife Doris (Dunia) Gasieff (née Lapassova), married 1914, children Lida (Eva) Gasieff b. 1913 and Peter Gasieff b. 1915. Doris left Australia with children in 1921; in 1934 Peter Gasieff, refugee from Russia, destitute in India, applied for return to Australia and lived in Sydney serving in the AIF in WWII |
| Arrived at Australia |
from Far East via Moji on 3.12.1912 per Eastern disembarked at Melbourne |
| Residence before enlistment | Port Pirie, Melbourne, Sydney |
| Occupation | Farmer; smelter; after the war shopkeeper |
| Naturalisation | Served as Russian subject |
| Residence after the war | 1917-18 Adelaide, 1919 Brisbane |
Service #1
| Service number | 8604, 4780 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted | 7.10.1915 |
| Place of enlistment | Adelaide |
| Unit | 10th Battalion; 50th Battalion |
| Rank | Private |
| Place | Western Front, 1916-1917 |
| Final fate | RTA 10.09.1917 |
| Discharged | 28.12.1917 MU |
Materials
Digitised service records (NAA)
Digitised Embarkation roll entry (AWM)
Army pay file (NAA)
Gasieff, D - Arrived 1917 at Melbourne (wife's travel document, digitised) (NAA)
Doris Gasieff's alien registration (NAA)
Peter GASIEFF - repatriation to Australia (NAA)
Peter Gasieff - Repatriation to Australia - Whereabouts of Beksa Gasieff (Father) (NAA)
Publications
Елена Говор, Осетинские анзаки. - Северная Осетия, 14 сентября 2007.
Blog article
Newspaper articles
Waiting for the priest. A claim for maintenance. - _Barrier Miner _, Broken Hill, 29 May 1914, p. 4.
Wife or slave? -The Advertiser Adelaide, 23 December 1914, p. 11.
The unveiled woman. Jealous Russian husband - Port Pirie Recorder and North Western Mail, 24 December 1914, p. 1.
From Russian Anzacs in Australian History:
[...] in April [1916] the Mongolia brought ten Russians from South Australia, among them five Ossetians from the Port Pirie smelters who had joined up together in October 1915 -- Soltanoff, Gasieff, Mamsuroff, Dezantoff, and Tolparoff.
[...] Even less is known about what happened to the family of Bekza Gasieff. He was an Ossetian married to a Russian woman, and they left for Russia in the 1920s. In 1934 Peter Gasieff, his Australian-born son, turned up in India, destitute, where he appealed to Australian authorities after escaping from Russia. Unfortunately, the available documents shed no light on this family's misfortunes.
Gallery
Doris Gasieff's certificate from the Russian consulate
NAA: BP313/1, GASIEFF D