Russian Anzacs

Victor Hill from Helsingfors (Helsinki) in Finland, came to Australia in 1905 and worked as a mechanic and sleeper cutter in Western Australia.
He enlisted in the AIF, but was discharged a month later for medical reasons.
After the war he lived in Western Australia, working as a labourer.

Olo Yrio Saren from Abo (Turku) in Finland came to Western Australia in 1913 and worked as a wood cutter.
Enlisting in the AIF, he served with the 11th Battalion on the Western Front. In April 1917 he was wounded in the head at the battle for Bullecourt. He rejoined his battalion and in September 1917 was wounded in the hand at Ypres and repatriated to Australia.
After the war he moved to the eastern states and died in a traffic accident in Melbourne.

Elis Edwin Soderberg, a Finnish sailor from Helsingfors (Helsinki), by the time of his enlistment was in Melbourne.
He enlisted in the AIF in February 1916, but did not serve long.
After the war he moved to New Zealand, where he married a local girl Esma Beatrice Wigg. They left for the USA, where Elis Edwin continued working as a seaman.

Frank Werner Wirtnen from Bjorneborg in Finland worked in Queensland as a labourer.
Enlisting in the AIF, he served with the 49th Battalion on the Western Front until he got sick and was repatriated to Australia with a diagnosis of deafness.
After the war he left for the USA.

Albert Rolf Baarman, a carpenter fron Ekenas in Finland, came to South Australia in 1904, moving later to Queensland.
He served with the 4th Pioneer Battalion on the Western Front.
After the war he worked as a seaman in Australia, USA and England, returning to Australia in 1944.

Fridrich Grusausky, a Baltic German from Riga, came to Melbourne in 1911 as a seaman and absconded from his ship. He was followed by his brother Edward Otto who studied in the Australian Missionary College, while Fridrich became an orchadist.
The first time Friedrich enlisted was in July 1915, but was discharged for medical reasons. Enlisting in February 1916 he was more successful. He served with the 3rd Pioneer Battalion on the Western Front; later he was transferred to the Machine Gun Battalion and wounded in the abdomen in June 1918, but survived and was repatriated to Australia.
After the war he changed his name to Frederick Russell, married an Australian girl, Lillias Amelia Frase, and worked as a hotel keeper in Anglesea, Victoria.