Russian AnzacsPaul Ippolit Kirvalidze
| Alias | since 1931 Paul Kay |
|---|---|
| Russian spelling | Павел Ипполитович (Иванович) Кирвалидзе |
| Born | 14.12.1888 |
| Place | Zvareti, Kutaisi, Georgia, the Caucasus |
| Ethnic origin | Georgian |
| Religion | (Georgian) Orthodox |
| Father | Ivan Kirvalidze |
| Mother | Nina Kirvalidze (nee Khutsieff), Kutaisi |
| Family | Wife Olga (née Holland), married 1935, divorced 1942; wife Nadia (née Priadko), married 1946 |
| Arrived at Australia |
from Moji, Japan on 15.06.1913 per Empire disembarked at Brisbane |
| Residence before enlistment | Brisbane, Sydney |
| Occupation | 1913, 1916 grocer, 1927 wharf labourer, 1932 tobacco grower, 1949 hotel proprietor |
| Naturalisation | 1932 |
| Residence after the war | 1921 worked in American relief mission in Russia; in August 1923 arrested as a British spy and counter-revolutionary, detained for 12 months, deported to Constantinople, returned to Australia in 1925, lived in Mackay, Mount Isa |
| Died | 4.04.1962, Queensland |
Service #1
| Service number | 3088 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted | 31.07.1915 |
| Place of enlistment | Liverpool, NSW |
| Unit | 2nd Battalion, 61st Battalion, 3rd Battalion |
| Rank | Private, Lance Corporal, Corporal, Lance Sergeant, Sergeant, Special guard, Acting Warrant Officer |
| Place | Western Front, 1916-1919 |
| Casualties | WIA 1916 |
| Discharged | 17.05.1919 in London |
Service #2 – British Army
| Enlisted | 19.05.1919 |
|---|---|
| Unit | Middlesex Regiment, Intelligence Branch of British Military Mission |
| Rank | Sergeant, attached to War Office Intelligence Department |
| Place | Russia South, July 1919 - October 1920 |
| Discharged | 25.11.1920 |
Materials
Naturalisation 1 2 (NAA)
Digitised service records (NAA)
Digitised Embarkation roll entry (AWM)
Digitised British Army pension records (National Archives) (available via Ancestry.com)
Blog article
Newspaper articles
Defamation claim. - Daily Mercury, Mackay, 18 November 1927, p. 6
Deserted by wife. - Morning Bulletin, Rockhampton, 6 December 1927, p. 10.
Mt. Isa notes. - Townsville Daily Bulletin, 5 June 1931, p. 3
Hit light pole. - The Courier-Mail, 12 April 1950, p. 7
From Russian Anzacs in Australian History:
Paul Kirvalidze wrote: 'At the conclusion of the War when I was stationed in Belgium with my regiment a call was made for volunteers by the British War Authorities for Relief Force in Archangelsk for which I volunteered. I was sent to London, got my discharge from the A.I.F. Headquarters in London, and on the same day reenlisted into the Middlesex regiment from which I was called up by the war office attached to the Intelligence Department of the War Office and sent to Russia with the British Military Mission where I remained up to August of 1920.' He served as an interpreter in south Russia, then joined 'an American Relief Mission in the famine stricken districts of Russia ... On the determination of the famine I remained in Russia and started a business of my own in conjunction with Major F. Collas but in August of 1923 we were both arrested and I personally was charged as a British spy and [with] Counter Revolution... I was sentenced to death by Cheka (Political Department of Soviet Russia) but on the defence of British representatives I was released and deported to Constantinople in March 1924.'
Gallery
Paul Kirvalidze
Naturalisation file (NAA)