Ivan Frederick Lowack Selman

Alias Eric Frederick Lorrie Selmen; Ivan Ivanovitch Selmen; Otto Selman; Leon Selman
Russian spelling Иван Иванович Селман
Born 1894
Place Mitava (Jelgava) or Riga, Latvia
Ethnic origin Latvian / Russian?
Religion Russian Orthodox
Residence before arrival at Australia Studied for 2 years at a military college, St Petersburg
Arrived at Australia from from New Zealand (?)
Residence before enlistment Sydney, Melbourne
Occupation 1915, 1917 medical student
Naturalisation Served as Russian subject
Residence after the war Ballarat, Castlemain, Brisbane, Adelaide, Geelong, Melbourne, Tasmania

Service #1 – Depot (New Zealand)

Enlisted 1914 (?)
Place of enlistment Wellington, NZ
Unit 1st NZ Mounted Rifles
Rank Private
Discharged 1915 MU

Service #2

Service number 4240
Enlisted 30.12.1915
Place of enlistment Sydney
Unit 17th Battalion
Rank Private
Place Egypt, England, 1916
Final fate RTA 31.08.1916
Discharged 30.12.1916 MU

Service #3

Service number 7324
Enlisted 19.01.1917
Place of enlistment Gulgong, Victoria
Unit 7th Battalion
Rank Private
Place England, 1917
Final fate RTA 22.07.1917
Discharged 4.06.1918 MU

Materials

Digitised service records (NAA) (Selman Ivan Frederick Lowack)

Digitised Embarkation roll entry (AWM)

Alien registration (NAA) (Selman Ivan Leon)

I.F.L. Selman Military History (NAA)

Personal case file (NAA)

Blog article

Russian

English

Newspaper articles

Police court - Adelaide. - Express and Telegraph, Adelaide, 13 August 1920, p. 2.

From Russian Anzacs in Australian History:

Ivan Frederick Lowack Selman was another for whom the evidence pointed towards his being Russian, despite his name and his Latvian birthplace. When receiving his pension, in Australia, Selman gave his first names in the typically Russian form, Ivan Ivanovich; he was also Greek Orthodox and had studied for two years in a St Petersburg military college -- all reason enough to consider him Russian, too, and not Latvian, nor German.

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