Jack Puss

Born 1878
Place Arensburg (Kuressaare), Oesel (Saaremaa), Estonia
Ethnic origin Estonian
Religion Protestant & Unitarian
Father Arthur Puss
Residence before arrival at Australia Has been working on German ships for 3 years
Residence before enlistment Wallaroo, SA
Occupation Carpenter
Naturalisation Served as Russian subject
Residence after the war 1918 USA

Service #1

Service number 1557
Enlisted 14.07.1915
Place of enlistment Keswick, SA
Unit 32nd Battalion
Rank Private
Place Western Front, 1916-1917
Final fate RTA 21.07.1917
Discharged 2.10.1917 'services no longer required' (suspicion of pro-Germanism)

Materials

Blog article

Russian

English

From Russian Anzacs in Australian History:

Jack Puss, an Estonian, [...] a carpenter in civilian life, he had been fighting on the Western Front for nearly a year when one day he was heard to say, 'I think I would get better treatment if I went over to Fritz and held my hands up'. Another reason he came under suspicion was that he could speak German; he had previously worked for several years on German ships. He was immediately discharged without trial and considered ineligible for medals. After his discharge he completely disappears from Australian archival records; probably, he left Australia and did not care about getting any medals.

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