Russian AnzacsIvan Odliff
| Alias | Jack, John |
|---|---|
| Russian spelling | Иван Одлив (?) |
| Born | 1887 |
| Place | Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, or Riga, Latvia |
| Ethnic origin | Russian |
| Religion | Roman Catholic & Russian Orthodox |
| Father | I. Odliff |
| Mother | M. Odliff |
| Family | Wife Daisy Odliff |
| Residence before arrival at Australia | Served in the Russian Navy |
| Residence before enlistment | Albury, NSW |
| Occupation | 1915 boiler maker, labourer, 1919 shipbuilder |
| Naturalisation | Served as Russian subject |
| Residence after the war | Currency Creek, via Windsor, NSW |
| Died | 23.02.1926 Gunnedah, NSW |
Service #1 – Depot
| Service number | 3177 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted | 15.02.1915 |
| Place of enlistment | Liverpool, NSW |
| Unit | 17th Battalion |
| Rank | Private |
| Discharged | 19.03.1915 unlikely to become an efficient soldier |
Service #2
| Service number | 3177 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted | 20.08.1915 |
| Place of enlistment | Newcastle, NSW |
| Unit | 18th Battalion, 3rd Battalion, MG Company Details |
| Rank | Private |
| Place | Western Front, 1916-1918 |
| Casualties | WIA 1916 |
| Discharged | 20.05.1919 in England |
Service #3 – British Army
| Enlisted | 26.05.1919 |
|---|---|
| Place of enlistment | London |
| Unit | Middlesex Regiment, the North Russian Relief Force |
| Place | Russia, 1919-1920 |
| Final fate | 6.04.1920 RTA, Sydney |
| Discharged | 1920 |
Materials
Digitised service records 1 2 (NAA)
Digitised Embarkation roll entry (AWM)
British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920 (Available via Ancestry.com)
British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920 (Available via Ancestry.com)
Blog article
Newspaper articles
An open verdict. - The Sydney Morning Herald, 26 February 1926, p. 12
Poisoned in error. Cut throat to save life. - Singleton Argus, 2 March 1926, p. 1
From Russian Anzacs in Australian History:
[...] five Russians enlisted in the Middlesex Regiment, mostly as interpreters, and served with the North Russian Relief Force: Alex Alexandroff, from Vladivostok (a former cook), Robert Meerin and Anthony Minkshlin, from the Baltic region (both former seamen), Ivan Odliff, from Nizhny Novgorod (a former boiler-maker), and Paul Smirnoff, a 19-year-old former miner from Vologda, northern Russia. Richard Gregorenko planned to join them but later changed his mind and returned to Australia. They arrived in Archangel in summer 1919 and fought against the pro-Bolshevik forces in the area until the final evacuation of Allied forces a year later. Minkshlin was awarded a Meritorious Service Medal for this campaign.