Isaac Chain

Born 1878 (WWI attestation); 7.07.1886 (WWII attestation)

Place Odessa, Ukraine

Ethnic origin Jewish

Religion Jewish

Father Louis Chain

Mother Charlotte Chain

Family

Wife Sarah Chain (nee Bass), son Phillip, b. 1916, daughter Rosy

Arrived at Australia
from Cape Town, South Africa
on 4.03.1908
per Salamis
disembarked at Melbourne

Residence before enlistment Melbourne, Sydney

Occupation Cigarette manufacturer

Service 1
service number 5067
enlisted 29.11.1915
POE Casula, NSW
unit 4th Battalion
rank Private
place Western Front, 1916-1917
final fate RTA 31.10.1917
discharged 29.05.1918

Service 2 (WWII)
service number N105842
enlisted 19.01.1941
POE Sydney
unit 7 GB
rank Private
discharged 12.08.1943

Naturalisation Served as Russian subject

Residence after the war Sydney

Died 10 May 1945, Sydney

Materials

Digitised WWI service records (NAA)

WWII service records (NAA)

Digitised Embarkation roll entry (AWM)

NSW Police Gazette notices 1913, 1915, 1930

Blog article

Russian

English

Newspaper articles

Rival cigarettes. - The Age, Melbourne, 1 October 1909, p. 7.

Forged cigarettes. - Daily Herald, Adelaide, 24 May 1915, p. 3.

From Falling stars: The story of Anzacs from Ukraine:

Age seemed to present no major obstacle to enlistment [in WWII], however: some of the men simply 'adjusted' their birthdates, and the authorities regularly failed to insist on documentary proof. [...] Isaac Chain shed almost a decade between 1878 and 1886.