Russian AnzacsCentenary Stories
To mark the Centenary of the First World War in 2014-2018, this site, in a weekly post, celebrated the Russian Anzacs who enlisted in the AIF that week.
May-June 1916 enlistees without service records
- E. Litala, most likely of Finnish origin, enlisted in the AIF in NSW.
- A. Kilson enlisted in NSW.
- J. H. Petersohn enlisted in NSW.
- M. Temby enlisted in NSW.
- S. Oshenganoff enlisted in Queensland. He could be the same man as John Osheganoff, born in Viatka, who arrived in Australia in 1911 from the Russian Far East as John Osiganov and worked in Babinda.
Rappeport, Kolesnikov, Wist, Hansen, Karein, Turunen
- Samuel Rappeport, a Jewish man from Nikopol in Ukraine, came to Western Australia in 1904 with his parents and siblings. In Australia he worked as a boot maker and was employed by his father in their fruit shop.
- He served with the 43rd Battalion on the Western Front. In May 1918 he was gassed and returned to Australia.
- After the war he married Clara Dabscheek and lived in Perth working as a boot maker. During WWII he enlisted in the AIF and served in a garrison battalion.
- William Kolesnikov from Peretin in Chernigov Province consistently provided his place of birth as Kiev, which suggests that he preferred to be associated with Ukraine. He came to Western Australia in the Russian ship Neva in 1907, left the ship and worked in different parts of the state clearing land, mining, gardening, working in a café and in a bark mill. In 1911 he moved to Sydney, working as a hotel useful.
- He served with the 55th Battalion on the Western Front and was severely wounded in September 1917 at Polygon Wood near Ypres. He was wounded in the left arm and had his jaw fractured and tongue shot away. After months in hospitals he was returned to Australia.
- After the war he lived in Sydney. In January 1923 his coat and hat were found at a Sydney beach. It is most likely that he drowned himself.
- Woldemar Wist, a seaman from Revel (Tallinn), came to South Australia in 1915.
- He served with the 27th Battalion on the Western Front. In August 1918, during the Amiens advance, he was severely wounded in the right shoulder and legs.
- During his service, while in England, he married a nurse, Gertrude Helen Hazell, but she died in December 1918. Returning to Australia, Woldemar married a local girl, Florence Ettie. He received training as a saddler and established his saddler’s shop in Edithburg, where they settled.
- Harry Hansen, another Estonian, from Piarnu, was a ship’s carpenter. For five years he lived in South America before coming to Australia.
- Enlisting in the AIF in Claremont in Tasmania, he served with the 40th Battalion on the Western Front. In April 1918 he was accidentally wounded in the left hand and it was amputated.
- After the war he lived in Hobart and Melbourne.
- Emil Karein, a Finnish sailor from Helsingfors (Helsinki), enlisted in the AIF in Claremont together with Hansen.
- A month later he was discharged, considered ‘unlikely to become an efficient soldier’.
- Afterwards Karein continued seafaring in the USA, where he registered for service in WWI in 1918.
- Edward Turunen, also a seaman from Kotka in Finland, enlisted in the AIF in Port Pirie.
- He served with the 36th and 33rd battalions on the Western Front. In June 1917 he was wounded in the back, left leg and wrist at Messines. In June 1918 he was gassed and in August 1918 wounded in the thigh at Bray near Rouen.
- Recovering, he was discharged in London, intending to return to Finland.
Matson, Tortsan, Kalson, Ankudinow, Remez
- Henry Matson from Finland came to Australia in the 1890s and worked in country Victoria as a wood-cutter, labourer, and miner. In 1899 he married Christina Gregg, a widow with children, and they had a son and a daughter. In 1917 their son Henry John, who was born in 1900, enlisted in the AIF by raising his age.
- Henry, enlisting in the AIF in Melbourne, sailed with the 21st Battalion to the Western Front, but upon reaching England got sick and was returned to Australia.
- In 1918 he died in a Melbourne hospital of cancer. His son returned from the war safely.
- Max Tortsan, a Jewish man, was probably from Nesvizh in Belarus, although he also claimed to be born in Capetown and just ‘Russia’. His family emigrated to Capetown when he was young and he served in the Capetown Highlanders regiment, participating in warfare.
- He came to Sydney in August 1915 and enlisted in the AIF a week later. His first service was not a success: over a few months he had 4 AWLs and was discharged in December 1915 as ‘undesirable’. Five months later he enlisted once again and sailed with the reinforcements to the 1st Battalion to the Western Front. For most of his service he was sick or had AWLs and was court-martialed twice.
- Returning to Australia he lived in Sydney, working as a steward and salesman. During WWII he enlisted in the AIF and served in a garrison battalion.
- Alfred Kalson, a Finnish seaman, enlisted in the AIF in Sydney.
- He served with the 20th Battalion on the Western Front and was killed in May 1917 at Bullecourt.
- His relatives in Finland were found after the war.
- Michael Ankudinow was born in Odessa and as a child moved with his mother and stepfather to Vladivostok. His stepfather was a prominent personality in the economic and cultural life of the young city and his children received a good education. Michael nevertheless left home and became a seaman. In 1912 he landed in South Australia.
- Enlisting in the AIF in Adelaide, he served with the 43rd Battalion on the Western Front. In October 1917 he was wounded at Broodseinde and then gassed in April 1918. In April 1917 Ankudinow was mentioned in dispatches for his bravery and was trusted to serve in the Australian Provost Corps at the end of the war.
- While in the UK, he married an Irish girl, Maggie Callaghan. They came to Australia in 1920 and, while staying in South and Western Australia, they were involved in the numerous cases of petty crime aggravated by alcoholism. When Maggie left ten years later Michael’s life somehow improved and he enlisted twice in the 2nd AIF during WWII.
- Bernard Remez, a Jewish man from Mogilev in Belarus, participated in the Russo-Japanese war. He came to Australia in 1909 from Argentina, where lived for several years. In Australia he worked as an optician living in Melbourne; in 1915 he married Rebecca Major.
- In May 1916 he enlisted in the AIF, but was discharged a month later as medically unfit. He reenlisted for Home service and served for another five months.
- After that he settled in Wagga Wagga, visiting many country towns of New South Wales and offering his services as an optician. He moved to South Australia in 1922, but after that he disappears from the records.
Hill, Borsoff, Westerberg, Raisanen, Williams
- Richard William Hill, an Englishman born in Moscow, enlisted in the AIF in Melbourne in May 1916. His occupation was recorded as electrician and linguist.
- He served as a permanent guard in Australia and was discharged in November 1916. He enlisted for the second time in June 1917 for service abroad, but served in the Home service until the end of the war.
- After the war he lived in Melbourne working as an electrician.
- John Borsoff from Riga came to Western Australia in the early 1890s and worked as a miner. By the time of his enlistment he lived in the remote area of Marble Bar.
- Enlisting in the AIF in Perth, he served with the 32nd Battalion on the Western Front.
- After the war he lived in the Marble Bar area continuing his work as a prospector.
- John Kristianson Westerberg, an Estonian from the Haapsalu area, was a seaman and carpenter. He came to Australia in about 1909 and worked in Tirroan, Queensland, as a carpenter.
- He served with the 4th Pioneer Battalion on the Western Front and was killed in February 1918 at the battle for Hill 60 at Hollebeke.
- His Australian friends remembered him, but his family was never found and only recently his niece Marina Wallin learnt about his destiny.
- Otto Abram Raisanen, a Finn from Uleaborg, was probably a seaman. He came to Australia in 1915 and was working as a butcher in Victoria.
- He served with the Machine Gun company and 59th Battalion on the Western Front. In September 1917 he was wounded in the left hand at Polygon Wood; in November the same year he was wounded in the arm at Messines; in April 1918 he was gassed, recovered and continued to serve to the end of the war.
- After the war he married a Finnish girl, Ellen Jakobina Nyman, a sister of another Finnish Anzac, Julius Nyman. They tried farming, but later Otto worked as a smallgoodsman in Yandina and Townsville in Queensland. In 1931 they moved to New Zealand for five years, but then returned to Australia. During WWII Raisanen worked as a waterside worker in Sydney; later they returned to Yandina.
- John Williams, an Estonian seaman from Piarnu, enlisted in the AIF in Hamilton in Victoria.
- Three months later he was discharged, being convicted by civil power.
- After the war he lived in Sydney.
Wiberg, Graubin, Johnson, Lammi, Setalo
- Erik Oliver Wiberg from Abo (Turku) in Finland came to Australia in 1912 on a Finnish ship as a steward and settled in Newcastle.
- He served with the 33rd Battalion on the Western Front.
- After the war he married an Australian girl, Janet Stirrat, and lived in Sydney working as a lorry driver and labourer.
- John Gustaf Graubin was born in Helsingfors (Helsinki), came to Australia as a sailor in 1909 and worked as a farm labourer.
- He served with the 59th Battalion on the Western Front. In September 1917, at the battle at Polygon Wood, he was reported missing in action; later, after a court of enquiry and witness testimony, he was reported as killed in action.
- His father was found in Helsingfors after the war.
- Stanley Johnson, an Englishman born in St Petersburg, worked in Australia as a mechanical engineer.
- He served with the 3rd Pioneer Battalion on the Western Front attaining the rank of Lieutenant. In 1917 he spent some time in London working for the War Office, probably liaising with the Russian Government Committee. In August 1918 at the battle near Bray he was wounded in the thigh.
- He was married when he enlisted in the army and after the war lived in Western Australia with his family.
- Hyalmar Anton Lammi, a Finish seaman from Kristinestad, came to Australia in 1915.
- Enlisting in the AIF in Sydney, he served with the 17th Battalion on the Western Front. Soon after arrival to the front in April 1917 he developed bronchitis and was later diagnosed with TB.
- He was repatriated to Australia and returned to his seafaring profession, but on Christmas Eve of 1918 died under the wheels of a tram in Sydney.
- Emil Setalo, a former Finnish seaman from Pori, was working in Australia as a miner and a sawyer in Cobar.
- He enlisted in the AIF together with Lammi, but was placed in the 53rd Battalion. In May 1917, at Bullecourt, he was severely wounded in the back and chest and returned to Australia.
- After the war he continued his occupation as a sailor in America and Europe, but in 1935 returned to Australia.
Lembit, Keiss, Nielsen, Oleinikoff, Shular
- Johannes Lembit, an Estonian seaman from Piarnu, came to Australia in April 1916 with his elder brother Alexander, also a seaman.
- Johannes enlisted in the AIF in Sydney a fortnight after his arrival and served with the 4th Battalion on the Western Front, attaining the rank of Sergeant. In September 1918 he was wounded in the head during the advance south of Peronne.
- After the war Johannes tried to buy a farm near Port Macquarie, but in the early 1920s he left for Estonia, where he married an Estonian girl Anna Maria and had a son. In 1926 they moved to Australia and settled in Sydney, where Johannes worked on the waterfront. Their son Valdek served in the AIF in WWII.
- Leonard George Keiss, another Estonian, from Jurjew (Tartu), came to Australia in 1913 as a seaman, deserting his ship. He was an engineer and fitter by profession.
- At the time of his enlistment in the AIF he was living next door to Lembit and they enlisted together. Unfortunately, his service did not go well: a few weeks after his enlistment he was convicted for breaking a window while drunk. Although he wanted to go to the front he was discharged from the army.
- After the war he lived in Ipswich, working as an engineer’s fitter and died in 1923.
- Lauritz Nielsen enlisted in the AIF as a native of Finland, which was confirmed by a certificate from the Russian consul. Later he stated that he was born in Denmark.
- He went to the Western Front with the 5th Pioneer Battalion, but his service was not smooth. He was twice court martialled for misconduct and desertion and in December 1918 deserted his battalion and was declared not eligible for war medals.
- After the war he settled in Denmark, married and had a family. He reappeared in Australian documents in 1922, when he wanted to return to Australia.
- Matfeus Oleinikoff, a Ukrainian from Poltava Province, came to Australia via the Russian Far East in 1912 with his wife Daria and four children. They bought a sugar-cane farm in Cordalba and had three more children; nevertheless Matfeus enlisted in the AIF.
- He sailed to the Western front with the 26th Battalion, but got sick while in the UK, and was returned to Australia as medically unfit.
- After the war he moved with his family to Brisbane and they had one more child, but in 1926 he and his wife separated. During WWII their son Peter died while serving in the RAAF in England.
- Maxim Shular, a Ukrainian from the Chernigov Province, came to Australia in 1914 and worked as a labourer and miner in Queensland and in the Northern Territory.
- He enlisted in the AIF in Rockhampton, but was discharged four months later as medically unfit (he had injured his knee while working in the mines). He enlisted for the second time in April 1917 in Townsville, slightly changing his name, but was discharged again.
- After the war he disappears from the records; he probably returned to Ukraine.
Eller, Esserman, Silander, Hannus, Holland
- William Eller from Dago (Hiiumaa) Island in Estonia came to Australia in 1906 and worked as a coal miner in New South Wales.
- He served in the AIF as a sapper with the 1st Tunnelling Company on the Western Front. In March 1917 he was gassed and a year later wounded, but recovered and returned to his company.
- After the war he lived in Neath working as a labourer.
- Ernest Esserman, a Jewish man from Latvia, came to Australia in 1892 and worked as a hawker in Wee Waa. Later he moved to Sydney, where he worked as a bookmaker. Before enlisting in the AIF he married a relative of another Jewish Anzac, Arthur Levy, Beatrice (Bessie) Hilda Grimish.
- He served as a gunner and driver with the Howitzer Brigade and Ammunition column on the Western Front. In October 1917 he was wounded in the left hand at Passchendaele.
- After the war he lived in Sydney with his family, working as an agent.
- Karl Edwin Silander, a ship’s carpenter from Mariehamn in Finland, came to Australia in February 1916 and enlisted in the AIF three months later.
- He served with the 59th Battalion on the Western Front, was wounded in the fingers in March 1917, at Lagnicourt, and returned to Australia.
- After the war he lived in Newcastle, continuing his occupation of a seaman.
- Hjalmari Hannus from Helsingfors (Helsinki) in Finland was brought by his parents to Australia when he was a baby in 1900. They were followers of the Finnish leader Matti Kurikka, who wanted to establish a Finnish colony in the North Queensland.
- As a teenager Hannus served in the Australian cadets for 4 years and enlisted in the AIF when he was just 17; by that time he had the trade of a carpenter. He served with the 3rd Pioneer Battalion on the Western Front, where he was gassed in June 1917, but survived the ordeal and returned to his battalion.
- After the war he got a soldier’s block near Tolga and started a farm. In 1922 he married an Australian girl, Norma Gwendoline Franklin, but his health failed and he died in 1930.
- Johan Holland, an Estonian seaman from Piarnu, came to Australia in 1912.
- He served with the 36th Battalion on the Western Front. In June 1917, at Messines, he was wounded in his face, hand and knee, and three fingers on his hand were amputated.
- After the war he continued working on the ships as a sailor and died in 1923.
Dossoeff, Hajek, Oders, Gooliaeff, Orloff, Rehrick
- Moysey Dossoeff, an Ossetian from Ardon, served in the Russian Army in the Russo-Japanese war. He came to Australia in 1913 and worked in Port Pirie as a labourer.
- He started his service in the AIF in a machine gun company, but later was transferred to the 13th Light Horse Regiment with which he reached England. After several months of training there he was returned to Australia as medically unfit.
- After the war he worked in South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia. In 1919 he received a permit to return to Russia via Vladivostok and in the early 1920s he disappears from Australian records; most likely he fulfilled his plan.
- Francis Hajek, a Bohemian from Beroun near Prague in Austro-Hungary, in 1904 moved to London and in 1912 emigrated to Australia. He lived in Melbourne working as a waiter. In 1914 he naturalised as an Austrian subject.
- In 1915 he got a certificate from the Russian consul confirming that he was a Slav under the protection of Russia. In May 1916 he enlisted in the AIF as a Russian subject. Before departure to the front he married a Czech woman Fanda Ceska. He served with the 5th Pioneer Battalion on the Western Front until he was severely gassed in September 1918.
- After repatriation to Australia he lived in Melbourne with his wife, but in 1921 they went to Czechia to visit his family. In 1923 their son Emil was born and they stayed in Czechia. In 1939, with German advance, Francis was arrested by Germans as a British serviceman and sent to Buchenwald. He survived the camp and in 1948 applied for repatriation to Australia. He never made it and died in 1957 in Czechoslovakia, but his son and later his wife moved to Australia.
- Alexander Oders, an Estonian seaman from Piarnu, came to Western Australia in 1913, deserting his ship, and continued seafaring in Australian waters.
- He served with the 11th Battalion on the Western Front, where in August 1918 he was gassed at Chuignes.
- In December 1918, while on leave in London, he married an English girl, Constance Evelyne Wakeman. They settled in Perth, where Alexander worked as a fitter’s assistant. They had a large family and their eldest son Alexander Robert served in the AIF in WWII, becoming a Japanese POW in Siam. Their two other children served in the AIF and Alexander himself served as a guard in 1941-1946.
- Justin George Gooliaeff, a Russian from Dolgie Budy in Kursk Province, came from the family of a timber merchant. He studied at Moscow University, but, after a year there, came to Australia via the Russian Far East. He worked in Rockhampton, probably cane-cutting, although enlisting in the AIF he gave his occupation as a boiler maker.
- He served as a gunner with artillery units on the Western Front.
- While in a hospital in England, he met an English girl, Violet Maud Bullock, they married, and she followed him to Australia with their newborn son George Walter. Two years later their daughter Veronica was born. Justin took a block of land in the soldiers settlement in El-Arish, where he brought his young family. In 1925 he tragically died helping neighbours during a bushfire.
- Steven Orloff, a Russian blacksmith from the Pskov area, came to Australia in 1912 via the Russian Far East and lived in Brisbane and Cairns.
- He enlisted in the AIF in Rockhampton together with Gooliaeff and served with the 42nd Battalion on the Western Front. In October 1917, at the battle for Broodseinde, he was severely wounded in the head, right foot, and right thigh, and was repatriated to Australia.
- He never married and lived after the war in the North Queensland (probably cane-cutting). Later he moved to Sydney where he worked as a labourer. In 1947, when he applied for naturalisation, he was living in the unemployed camp in La Perouse.
- Nicolas Rehrick from Libava (Liepaja) in Latvia had a high school education and came to Australia in 1912 as a sailor; he lived in Victoria and Tasmania.
- He served with the 29th Battalion on the Western Front. In September 1917, at Ypres, he was wounded in the arm; in May 1918 he was wounded in the thigh, but recovered and returned to his battalion.
- After the war he lived in Melbourne, working as a seaman, iron worker, and rigger.
Hvitfelt, Permakoff, Ouchirenko, Skugar, Niemi
- Ernest Alfred Hvitfelt, a Finn from Abo (Turku), came to Australia in 1914 and worked as a labourer in Gippsland and Riverina.
- Enlisting in the AIF in Sydney, he served with the 2nd Battalion on the Western Front. In April 1917 he was wounded in the arm at Doignes but recovered and continued his service to the end of the war. For his gallantry and devotion to duty during the September 1918 battle at Hargicourt, where he worked as a stretcher-bearer, he was awarded the Military medal.
- While in an English hospital he became acquainted with an English girl, Harriet Foskett; they married and sailed to Australia together in 1919, but his wife died the next year in Sydney. It is quite likely that he left Australia for America after that.
- Nicholas Permakoff, a Russian from Archangel, served in an artillery unit in the Russian army. He worked in Australia as a miner and lived in Dubbo.
- Enlisting in the AIF in Sydney, he expected to be transferred to the Russian Army upon arrival in England. This was not done, but by that time the Russian Revolution had taken place and Permakoff refused to fight at all. He was court-martialled, but nevertheless he was brought to the Western Front with the 4th Battalion. In June 1918 he cast aside his weapon and in broad daylight went to the German trenches. An Australian Lance Corporal, fulfilling the order of the commanding officer, killed him before he managed to reach the German lines.
- Permakoff’s mother in Archangel was never found.
- John Ouchirenko, a Ukrainian from Odessa and ship engineer by trade, came to Australia in 1915.
- Enlisting in the AIF in Melbourne, he served with the 39th Battalion on the Western Front. In July 1917 he was gas poisoned and then received a concussion in October 1917 at Broodseinde near Ypres.
- In 1917, while in a training camp in England, he met and married an English girl, Clara Lane, but the marriage did not last. Upon return to Australia he worked as a ship’s engineer and in 1927 married an Australian girl, Doris Robertson. They lived in Ballarat and had five children. During WWII John enlisted in the AIF and served as a home guard.
- Gerard Martyn Skugar, a Pole from Vilno (Vilnius) in Lithuania, came to Australia as a seaman in 1914 and worked in the Bundaberg area, probably as a canecutter.
- Enlisting in the AIF in Rockhampton, he served with the 41st Battalion on the Western Front. In August 1918, at the battle near Hamel, he singlehandedly captured an enemy machine gun and continued excellent work until he was severely wounded in the head. For this battle he was awarded the Military Medal.
- After the war he tried to settle in the soldiers’ settlement, then, during the Depression, for several years had no fixed place of abode. In the early 1930s he lived in Sydney working as a jeweller and for a brief time was an acting Polish Consul and the president of the Polish National Alliance. Later he moved to North Queensland, working as a miner and labourer. During WWII he enlisted in the AIF and was on home service.
- Karl Niemi, a Finnish seaman from Killinkoski, enlisted in the AIF in Sydney.
- He served with the 30th Battalion on the Western Front. In December 1917 he experienced severe shell shock, suffered from amnesia and was repatriated to Australia.
- After the war he lived in Sydney, but after 1921 he disappears from the available records.
Holman, Brandt, Koel, Borszcer, Wilen
- Victor Holman (his true name was Kustaa Viktor Vastamaa), a former Finnish seaman from Pori, came to Western Australia in 1914 and worked as a farm labourer in East Tambellup.
- He served with the 44th Battalion on the Western Front. In July 1918, at the battle for Hamel he was severely wounded in the arm and neck and died of wounds the following day.
- His mother was found in Finland after the war.
- William Brandt, an Estonian sailor from Oesel (Saaremaa) Island, came to Australia in 1912.
- Enlisting in the AIF in Warragul, a country town in Victoria, he served with the 5th Battalion on the Western Front. He was wounded in the right arm during the February advance in 1917, returned to the front four months later, and was wounded soon afterwards in the battle for Mennin Road, at Ypres, this time in the head. He was returned to the front in March 1918, when Russia had already withdrawn from the war. He refused to fight on these grounds and was court martialled. His 5-year sentence was eventually commuted and he was returned to Australia after the war.
- After the war he continued working on coastal steamers living in Melbourne.
- Peter Koel, Brandt’s countryman from Oesel, was married in Estonia but continued seafaring. In 1913 he was shipwrecked in the North Sea and survived three days in the water before he was rescued. He came to Australia in 1914 as a seaman. In 1915 Koel and Brandt served together on the ship Westralia and a few months later enlisted together in the AIF in Warragul.
- Koel was placed in the same 5th Battalion, but discharged five months later, suffering from rheumatism – a consequence of his exposure after the shipwreck in the North Sea.
- After discharge he continued working on the ships in Australia and in the UK.
- David Borszcer, a Jewish musician from Bershad in Ukraine, came to Australia in June 1915 with the Belgian Band under the patriotic endeavour of raising money for the Belgian Relief Fund. A number of the members of this band were Russian nationals, and Russian music, including Tchaikovsky’s overture ‘1812’, featured as a highlight of their programs.
- Borszcer stayed in Australia and enlisted in the AIF in April 1916; he was not accepted for overseas service but was allocated for service in the Australian Light Horse Band based at Menangle Park near Sydney. While serving he developed pulmonary tuberculosis, which was probably aggravated by his playing cornet. He was discharged from the army in 1917, but after recuperating he resumed his patriotic musical endeavours as a conductor of the Chatswood Orchestral Society in aid of the Red Cross.
- After the war he stayed in Sydney continuing his occupation as a musician, but spent the last years of his life in provincial New South Wales, dying in Tumut in 1939.
- Alvar Wilen, a Finnish seaman from Fredrikshamn (Hamina), came to Australia in 1912 and worked in country New South Wales as a labourer and stockman.
- He tried to enlist in the AIF twice, but was discharged on account of rheumatism.
- He was naturalised in 1917 while working as a stockman at Moonan Flat, but disappears from the records after that.