Imperial Russia Neat Imperial Russian - White Russian Group

[NavyFCO]

This is a really neat group that I had the opportunity of picking up starting with the first batch on eBay. I was the high bidder on the auction, and after getting to know the seller better, he eventually sold me everything in the group. Despite the fact that he was the veteran's grandson, he felt that the group could be better appreciated by someone like me, and for as long as I own it, it will be! I'm very touched to be the caretaker of this family's legacy...

He described his grandfather's history like this:

"Apparently my Grandfather was from the St. Petersburg area. He was in the Tsarist cavalry during World War I, eventually becoming a captain of engineers. He won the St. George's Cross 4th Class, which may have resulted in his promotion to the officer corps, a common occurence during WWI. Family lore has it he won the honor by leading a cavalry charge behind German lines to recapture the unit guidon which had been seized by the Germans.

"He was in St. Petersburg when the Bolshevik Revolution occurred, and one of the documents I have is his Bolshevik Letter of Transit which he used to travel to the Crimea to enlist with Baron Wrangel's White Army. That's where he met my Grandmother, who was serving as a White Army nurse. Family lore also has it that they were on the last boat to flee the Crimea as it fell to the Bolsheviks, which took them to Constantinople where they lived until the Turkish Revolution in 1922. My Aunt, who was born in the Crimea, was 3 months old when they fled to Constantinople.

"From Constantinople they moved to Belgrade, where my Grandfather went to work for King Alexander as a royal engineer. I don't know how the relationship with the king came about, but Grandfather was awarded the royal Medal for Zealous Service in 1931, and the Order of St. Sava Vth Class, in 1934, just months before King Alexander was assassinated. My Dad was born in Belgrade in 1922 and lived there until 1939.

"As luck would have it, he had just moved to Prague in September 1939 to attend the University of Prague, and we all know what happened to Prague that month! The family remained in Belgrade until the Nazis invaded in 1941. Then they were stuck in a German refugee camp, mostly in Kemper, for the course of the war. After the camp was liberated, my Dad worked for the U.S. Army as an interpreter and driver. At the end of the war, all being fluent German speakers, they passed themselves off as native Germans to keep from being repatriated to the Soviet Union, and instead steamed over to Canada..."

First off, here are the documents I bought on eBay. These are the "passport" documents given in Turkey for their travel to Bulgaria...

[NavyFCO]

Here's a closeup of his grandfather's photo...

[NavyFCO]

And the photo of his great uncle. Obviously, they're both still in their White uniforms...

[NavyFCO]

Here's the backside of his grandmother's document, noting that they had come from Sebastopol on 13 November 1920...

Edited March 29, 2006 by NavyFCO

[NavyFCO]

Here's the next batch of papers... Both the safe travel documents from the Reds for his grandfather and great uncle; photos of his grandfather's unit on the front, one of which is with Baron Wrangel; a photo of his great grandfather in uniform; his grandmother's passport with stamps up to 1918; some smaller photos, one of his grandmother as a partially clad nurse...

Edited March 29, 2006 by NavyFCO

[NavyFCO]

Here's a closeup of some of the photos. The peaceful looking photo is of the family in Bulgaria in the 1930s.

[NavyFCO]

And finally, here are the naturalization certificates for his grandmother and grandfather (both are listed as "stateless" for their former citizenship) and to close it up, the death certificate for his grandmother.

Hope you enjoyed seeing this group!

[Guest Darrell]

Great stuff. Thanks for showing

[Djedj]

With their history they must have dreaded the outbreak of a revolution or invasion of Canada !

Coincidentally I just finished reading Vladimir Littauer's "Russian Hussar" book - very similar story in so many respects !

That's a great group you have here - the documents really echo one another ! And you sure did well picking up that story -definitely one for safekeeping.

[David Gregory]

What a superb group! You are very lucky to find a seller who believes that a group should not be split up and that a collector will appreciate and keep it together.

What are uniforms shown in the portraits and how do they differ from other uniforms of the era if they are from the White army?

[Gerd Becker]

Wonderful group and great move from the grandson to give you the chance to obtain the complete group. Could you post some closeups of the military photos in post #5?

Thanks for taking the time to post it here

[NavyFCO]

Guys, thanks for the compliments!

What was neat was that I was actually able to add to the guy's family history. Apparently, the family "lore" had it that the grandfather was never wounded just being very "lucky". Well, I found the grandfather listed in one of my White Russian Guards books, and it was mentioned in there that he was wounded. Suddenly, it made sense... how better a way to meet and marry a military nurse, than to be in the hospital yourself! Pretty neat!

I'll post up some scans of the photos this evening for further viewing.

Dave

[NavyFCO]

Here's a scan of the great grandfather. I'm assuming he was a general with those shoulder boards? Oddly, I would have expected a royal cypher on them? Thoughts?

[NavyFCO]

Here's the first of two field photos with the grandfather...

[NavyFCO]

The next field photo. The tall guy is supposedly Baron Wrangel?

[NavyFCO]

The final photo. I assumed this one pre-dated the Civil War, but judging from the decorations, it's definately Civil War. Perhaps a photo taken in Turkey while awaiting transport to other countries?

[Pete A]

Here's a scan of the great grandfather. I'm assuming he was a general with those shoulder boards? Oddly, I would have expected a royal cypher on them? Thoughts?

Since I see no stars there, it indeed looks like the boards are those of a full general. But I'd assume that if one had reached such a high position, he would have also been appointed as a general-adjutant, but like you said, there is no cypher. Also, the fact that he is wearing 3rd class St. Vladimir with no swords (no star visible, right?) as his "highest" order (besides the St. George, of course) seems odd.

Pete

[Gerd Becker]

Dave, thanks for the closeups

[Ed_Haynes]

Thanks for sharing this. An amazing history lies behind these documents and photos!! We should be grateful they never got thrown out, as so often happens, and are now having the past they represent brought back to live.

Edited March 30, 2006 by Ed_Haynes

[Ramblinfarms]

Congratulations on this beautiful group. This is history at its finest, and why we should all collect. I'm glad it went to a collector like you, who will cherish and preserve this families' stories.

[Tim Tezer]

Dave,

Any idea when the picture of the Grandfather was taken? Also, can we get a closer look at the St. George? It looks like it's white enamelled, which of course a Cross of St. George 4th class (for enlisted men) would NOT be. Maybe he later received the Order of St. George as an officer?

Tim

[NavyFCO]

Any idea when the picture of the Grandfather was taken? Also, can we get a closer look at the St. George? It looks like it's white enamelled, which of course a Cross of St. George 4th class (for enlisted men) would NOT be. Maybe he later received the Order of St. George as an officer?

Tim-

I think the group shots of the grandfather were taken in either mid-1919 through to early 1920. I think that the St George was probably metallic, but just caught the light and looks white in the photos. He was enlisted prior to getting a field commission, even though his father was an obviously very senior officer (and that photo is dated 1915 on the reverse)

Dave

[Treloarth]

There is no doubt that the tall general is Wrangel.

[Roeland]

Hello NavyFCO,

can you post a close up from 1 of those first documents?

It looks very interesting, but I can't read it.

The Pays-Bas are the Netherlands (it lies in West-Europa above Belgium).

It also has the Dutch weapon on top with Je Maintiendrai.

I would like to see more from this document to see what the connection might be with the Netherlands.

kind regards,

Roeland

[Roeland]

or does anybody know why the document has the Dutch emblem on it as well as refering to the Pay-Bas?