Imperial Russia General Adolf Ewardich Galhnbeck's Effects

[dwmosher]

Colonel Adolf Edwardich Galhnbeck of the Frontier Guard Cavalry was stationed in Harbin, Manchuria prior to and during the initial stages of the war. At some point in 1915, he was transferred to the Polish front and subsequently was promoted to general. Following to the Tsar?s abdication, the army collapsed and he was forced to disguise himself as a cobbler to make his way back to his family in Manchuria, and then to emigrate to Southern California, during the revolution. In 1923, he contacted the Red Cross in Harbin to have his family?s personal belongings hidden in the basement of a church, shipped to the US. Several of the family?s personal belongings (including several uniforms, medals, swords and his wife?s wedding dress) were sold at the Butterfield auction by the general?s daughter in early 1998. Later, in September 1998, I attended the OVMS Drawbridge Show and one of the Russian dealers had a service tunic (kitel) and a senior officer fur cap (firiskya) for sale. Based on funds, I was only able to purchase the tunic. The dealer showed me the auction catalog, along with some information on the initial owner of the tunic. Fast forward about five years later, I visit a militaria shop in Covington, KY and I see the fir cap, along with all of the military photos for Galhnbeck that had also been sold in the Butterfield auction. It took another year to finally come up with a trade/cash deal in order to reunite these items. Here is the fruit of my labor?

[dwmosher]

Galhnbeck as a captain with a St. Stan 3 w/o swords and an Alexander III commemeration medal dated 1881-1894

Edited August 25, 2006 by dwmosher

[dwmosher]

Galhnbeck as a lt. colonel with a St. Stan 2 w/o swords, a St. Anne 3 w/o swords, Alex III and a Russo-Japanese medal. Writing on the back is translated to:

Lt. Colonel

Chief of Supply

Territorial Administration of the Zaamurski Region

Corps of Border Detachment

Adolf Edwardich Galhnbeck

September 3rd, 1910

[dwmosher]

Still as a lt. colonel, Galhnbeck is attending a staff training course. The picture is approximately 12?x18?, is dated October 10,1910, and all of the attendee?s names and units are written on the back. Note that he is wearing a St. Anne 2 w/o swords on his service tunic.

A close-up

[dwmosher]

A large picture of Galhnbeck on horse (pony) in Manchuria.

A close-up

[dwmosher]

Galhnbeck as a full colonel with his family in Manchuria in 1915. Note the St. Anne 2 at his throat.

The family man...

[dwmosher]

A postcard-size picture of Galhnbeck ?going native?, presumably before the war.

A postcard-size picture of a much older-looking Galhnbeck with I would presume, some young ex-pats

[dwmosher]

Here is Galhnbeck's firiskya for senior officers (lt. colonel and colonel).

Lace on the top

[dwmosher]

And last, Galhnbeck's kitel and pagoni. The boards are that of a full colonel with the 2nd Polk of the Frontier Guard Cavalry. The garrison badge, although not his, would be proper for the tunic. Again, although original, the medal bar and visor cap are not Galhnbecks. The tunic is made of a fine melton wool and the interior is almost mint in condition. Note the pointed "Polish cuffs" which were used on the kitel of mounted units.

Edited August 25, 2006 by dwmosher

[NavyFCO]

WOW! Awesome, just awesome! Thanks for sharing your achievement with us!

Dave

[totheboss]

Fantastic collection, pardon my ignorance but the orders he has are without swords I thought these were awarded for civil service and not military, do you know any of the reasons why he was awarded these to help understand why they do not have the swords as I assume he was a military man.

Regardless of my confusion, it is still a great achievement and I congratulate you for putting it together and sharing it we us.

Kind regards

Alex

[Gerd Becker]

Fantastic group and great job reuniting his items, thanks for sharing!!!

Edited August 29, 2006 by Gerd Becker

[dwmosher]

Hey Gents:

Thanks for your kind comments.

Alex:

I'm with you...I'm not sure what the distinction was for swords vs w/o swords for these awards. I would presume that this gentleman was truly an administrator (Chief of Supply) so maybe he didn't warrant swords. Perhaps some of the imperial awards gurus can shed some light on this.

Here is picture of Galhnbeck's parade tunic as a colonel of the 2nd Frontier Guard Cavalry. I believe this is the same tunic shown in the cabinet photo above. This tunic is in the collection of Mr. Brad LeMay.

[Daniel Murphy]

Dave,

I had no idea you had branched out into Imperial Russian. That is a fantastic grouping. Top notch. It is great that you could reunite at least part of it and find out where some of the rest is.

Dan

[peter monahan]

Dave

Wow! I LOVE IT when someone re-unites a group or a bunch of effects - detective work plus love of the hobby plus saving real history. Lovely group of stuff too, though I was most interested in the general's life story. Do you have a readily accessible source for info. on his unit /units in Manchuria?

I was also struck by the story of his return to Manchuria and his subsequent move to the States. (Talk about culture shock!) Think about it: he probably walked most of the way, disguised, through some pretty nasty terrain ruled and policed by several lots of not very nice people.

Gahlnbeck's story reminds me of a Polish professor of mine in teachers' college. We knew he'd been in the Canadian army but on the last day of class ghe told us his tale: Polish cavalry officer cadet in Sept. 1939; fought that campaign, almost but not quite German charging tanks on a horse; didn't surrender but went to the forest, ate the horse in February 1940 "and then I walked to palestine and joined the Britsh Army." And I think my life is tough 'cause I only own one car! These guys are what this hobby is about for me: people who've done incredible things and happen to have some shiny things to commemorate that.

Sorry for the long-windedness - this group struck a real chord! Thanks for posting it!

Peter

[dwmosher]

Thanks again fellows, for your remarks and interest.

Dan:

My "branching" into Russian items is pretty limited, at best. I like it, but there is so much "bad stuff" coming out of eastern Europe. I tend to collect officer's field uniforms, which of course, are some of the most faked items.

Peter:

I was able to get my hands on the actual Butterfield auction from 1998, and the the "story" is related in there, along with the items I have shown above (as well as many other family items). I believe Brad had actually been in contact with the daughter who sold the items.

Regards

Dave