Adolf Leopold Drager

Adolf Leopold Drager
courtesy of Drager's family

Alias Adolph Leopold

Born 13.05.1892

Place Riga, Latvia

Ethnic origin German / Latvian

Religion Church of England

Father Randolf (Rendolf) Drager

Mother Helena

Family

Brothers Ernest Mikel Dreger & Frederick William Draeger; wife Mary Ellen Drager (née Armstrong), married 1923; children Shirley b.1926, Brian b.1931, Dalys b. 1936

Contacts

August Maren

Arrived at Australia
from Russia via London
on 7.03.1911
per Otway
disembarked at Fremantle

Residence before enlistment Doodlakine, Bayswater, Perth; Culham, Toodyay, WA

Occupation Hairdresser, barber

Service
service number 3506
enlisted 27.09.1915
POE Perth
unit 28th Battalion, 51st Battalion
rank Private
place Western Front, 1916-1918
casualties WIA 1916, 1917, 1918 (left leg amputated)
final fate RTA 24.03.1919
discharged 20.07.1920

Naturalisation 1914

Residence after the war Fremantle, Perth

Died 14.02.1970, Perth

Materials

Digitised naturalisation (NAA)

Digitised service records (NAA)

Digitised Embarkation roll entry (AWM)

Personal case file 1 2 (NAA)

Blog article

Russian

English

Publications

F. G. Clarke , Will-o'-the-wisp. Peter the Painter and the anti-tsarist terrorists in Britain and Australia, Melbourne, Oxford University Press, 1983.

Elena Govor, Latvian Anzacs. In: Aldis L. Putniņš, ed., Early Latvian Settlers in Australia, Melbourne: Sterling Star, 2010, pp. 16-52.

Newspaper articles

Alleged attempted suicide. - The West Australian, Perth, 20 June 1922, p. 6.

Adolph Leopold Drager. - The West Australian, Perth, 21 June 1922, p. 6.

Attempted suicide. - The West Australian, Perth, 26 September 1922, p. 8.

North Perth collision. - The West Australian, Perth, 27 October 1949, p. 2.

One-legged driver not negligent. - The Daily News, Perth, 6 November 1950, p. 8.

From Russian Anzacs in Australian History:

Among other casualties [in spring 1918] there was Ernest Dreger's brother, Adolf Leopold Drager, wounded for the third time: this time he lost his leg. His niece Elaine Dreger tells how she remembers her father Ernest and her Uncle Fred talking about her Uncle Dolph losing his leg: 'As I recall, after the incident the medical team went through but Uncle Dolph was thought to be dead. On the third day the Salvation Army were still looking for survivors, and finding Dolph still alive brought him back. The leg had become fly blown but this was said to have saved his life because the maggots had eaten the rotten flesh and saved the wound from becoming gangrenous. Unfortunately, he had to be operated on three times so that finally he had a very high amputation.'