Yan Soolkovsky

Yan Soolkovsky
Queenslander Pictorial, supplement to The Queenslander, 20 February 1915, p. 23

John Soolkovsky
South Brisbane Cemetery (Australian Cemeteries Index)

Alias Jan, John; Soolcovsky

Russian spelling

Ян Сулковский

Born 14.05.1890

Place Mlava, Plotsk, Poland

Ethnic origin Polish

Religion Russian Orthodox & Roman Catholic

Contacts

Walter Kalasnikoff

Residence before arrival at Australia Was apprentice in Russia for 2 years

Arrived at Australia
from Far East
on 25.03.1914
per Kumano Maru
disembarked at Townsville, Qld

Residence before enlistment Mount Pleasant, Gympie, Qld

Occupation Butcher

Service
service number 2014
enlisted 13.01.1915
POE Brisbane
unit 9th Battalion, 49th Battalion
rank Private
place Gallipoli, 1915; Western Front, 1916-1917
casualties WIA 1916, 1917
final fate RTA 30.01.1918
discharged 25.04.1918 MU (left hand amputated)

Naturalisation Served as Russian subject

Residence after the war Brisbane

Died 14.04.1920 Brisbane General Hospital (Meningitis, heart failure)

Materials

Digitised service records (NAA)

Digitised Embarkation roll entry (AWM)

Alien registration (NAA)

Medical case file (NAA)

Blog article

Russian

English

From Russian Anzacs in Australian History:

Russians who joined the army together, or who met up at training camp, would often embark together. Six Russians from Brisbane, for instance -- the journalists Chirvin and Fedorovich, the engineer Romanovsky, the labourer Domilovsky, the former revolutionary turned cane-cutter Rosalieff, and the butcher Soolcovsky -- all ended up together in the 9th Battalion's 5th reinforcement, departing on the Kyarra on 16 April 1915, along with Korotcoff, a cane-cutter from Port Douglas.

[...] William Kolesnikov, from Peretin in the Ukraine, had [...] horrific wounds [at Polygon Wood, 1917] -- as well as wounds to his left arm, his jaw and mandible were fractured and his tongue was shot away. Yan Soolcovsky, a Gallipoli veteran who had been wounded previously at Mouquet Farm, now lost an arm at Polygon Wood. In 1920 he died in Brisbane with his fiancée at his side. Was there anybody to look after Kolesnikov? I could find no one.