Russian AnzacsNathan Watchman
| Alias | Original name Notel-Kalman Pelts, changed to Watchman while in Dublin* |
|---|---|
| Russian spelling | Натан Пельц |
| Born | 2.02.1884* |
| Place | Virmenai, Kaunas, Lithuania |
| Ethnic origin | Jewish |
| Religion | Jewish |
| Father | Aurel (Orel) Pelts* |
| Mother | Iudes* |
| Family | Wife Elsie Florence Watchman (nee Johnston), married 1917 in Victoria; son Phillip Watchman (1919-1969), served in the navy in WWII; daughter Fanny (1921-1922) |
| Residence before arrival at Australia | Visited Dublin |
| Arrived at Australia |
from Newcastle upon Tyne, England on 31.10.1911 per Cassel* disembarked at Adelaide |
| Residence before enlistment | Adelaide, Melbourne, Geelong, Vic |
| Occupation | 1914 commercial traveller, 1919 draper, 1933 salesman |
| Naturalisation | 1914 |
| Residence after the war | 1919 Mildura, 1931 Geelong, 1939 Broken Hill |
| Died | 14.03.1949 at Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital, Melbourne |
Service #1 – Depot
| Service number | 5146 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted | 28.09.1914 |
| Place of enlistment | Geelong, Victoria |
| Unit | 5th LH Brigade train |
| Rank | Private |
| Final fate | Failed to embark with unit |
Service #2
| Service number | 1881 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted | 29.01.1915 |
| Place of enlistment | Melbourne |
| Unit | 6th Battalion |
| Rank | Private |
| Place | Gallipoli, 1915 |
| Casualties | WIA 1915 |
| Final fate | RTA 4.09.1915 |
| Discharged | 17.03.1916 |
Materials
Digitsed naturalisation (NAA)
Digitised service records (NAA)
Digitised Embarkation roll entry (AWM)
* Information from Simon Hill
Blog articles
From Russian Anzacs in Australian History:
About the landing [at Gallipoli] -- no Russian diaries or letters exist to give an account of it. All that remains to tell this story from a Russian perspective is an occasional water-stained pay-book with its ink all smudged, which was in a Russian soldier's pocket at that crucial moment of reaching the shore; or perhaps a brief reference made later in an official application, such as 'I lost all my papers at the landing at Gallipoli' (Nathan Watchman, from Lithuania, a former commercial traveller).