“It was bitterly cold...”

Happy Russia Day! Australia and Russia have shared a long history. The sloop Neva was the first Russian ship to visit the Australian mainland, visiting the New South Wales colony in 1807. Russian immigrants came to the colonies throughout the 19th century; the first Russian Orthodox Church began construction in Melbourne in 1900. Myer was founded by Russian immigrants in 1899. Most recently, Dustyesky, the “leading genuine fake Russian choir in the Southern Hemisphere”, has made headlines from Moscow to Sydney.

Russia and Britain were allies during the First World War, and Russian-born Australians served in the Australian Imperial Force. After the October Revolution of 1917, the Soviet government signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and Russia withdrew from the First World War. Russia entered a prolonged period of civil war following these events. The conflict was complicated. Two of the principal antagonists were the new Bolshevik government and their forces (the Red Army) and a coalition of anti-Bolshevik forces, including monarchists, reactionaries, and Cossack forces in the south (often described as the White armies).

Although not widely known, Australian servicemen fought in the Russian Civil War. The Allied nations, including Britain, backed the anti-Bolshevik forces in Russia. While Australia did not directly intervene, a number of Australians volunteered for service with British forces in North Russia, and several Royal Australian Navy ships were involved in Black Sea operations.

The Australian War Memorial is privileged to hold a number of items in its collection from Australians who served in the Russian Civil War. As a part of our ongoing Digitisation Project, we have digitised several of these collections and will be adding them to the existing digitised material. These are fascinating papers, and provide a genuine insight into a rarely recognised area of Australian military history.

Elope Force

In the immediate wake of the Revolution, Britain raised and dispatched the North Russian Expeditionary Force (NREF) to Murmansk and Archangelsk. The group sent to Archangelsk was called Elope Force. Nine Australians were part of the NREF, serving in a range of administrative, instructional, and advisory roles.

The Memorial holds letters and postcards of Captain Allan Brown (held as 1DRL/0158). A decorated officer, Captain Brown was attached to the North Russian Rifles as part of Elope Force. He was killed when his men mutinied and went over to the Bolsheviks on 20 July 1919.

North Russia Relief Force

As the situation in North Russia deteriorated, the British decided to withdraw. Soldiers from the dominions were also sought for the relief effort, resulting in just over a hundred volunteers. The resultant North Russia Relief Force (NRRF) consisted of two brigades. The Australians who volunteered had to resign from the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and join the British Army for a year's service. Most served in 45th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers and 201st Battalion, Machine Gun Corps. Despite service in the British Army in northern Russia, these men wore their Australian uniforms, including the distinctive slouch hats.

Two Australians were awarded the Victoria Cross for actions as part of the North Russian Relief Force: Corporal Arthur Percy Sullivan and Sergeant Samuel George Pearse. Other awards, including the Distinguished Service Medal and the Military Medal, were also awarded to Australian personnel.

The Memorial holds material related to the service of Private Wilfred John Robinson, who served in 45 Battalion, Royal Fusiliers as part of the NRRF (held as 3DRL/7086). During the battle at Emsta on 29 August 1919, Private Robinson was shot in the chest. By sheer luck, he was wearing a wallet holding his papers, including a diary and the New Testament, which took the force of the bullet which wounded him.

Knocked me head over tit, of course, when you get shot like that, especially as it was a lead bullet and, of course, it mushroomed. I had a little bible and a wallet and a diary and my discharge all in this top pocket and they saved my life because it deflected the bullet a bit. But, oh, it knocked a hole about that big through the bundle.

Private Wilfred John Robinson, AIF, First World War and 45th Royal Fusiliers, North Russian Relief Force 1919, interviewed by Stuart Menzies, 23 June 1984. S00181

Black Sea

On the shores of the Black Sea, the Civil War also raged. Australians were also involved in operations in the south. The Australian destroyer HMAS Swan, commanded by Commander Arthur Bond (Royal Navy) conducted an intelligence-gathering mission in December 1918 in the Sea of Azov with the French destroyer Bisson. The operation was to determine the state of affairs for the Don Cossacks, including their military and economic status. Other Australian ships, including the HMAS Parramatta, HMAS Yarra, HMAS Torrens, HMAS Warrego, HMAS Huon and the cruiser HMAS Brisbane also served in the Black Sea on various anti-Bolshevik duties.

The Memorial holds collections relating to the mission of the Swan, including the account of the Swan's Commander Arthur Bond (held as 1DRL/0133). Commander Bond's account reads like an early 20^th century adventure novel. He is fêted by the Cossack leaders, tours the war-torn city of Sevastopol, and meets peasants whose villages have been ravaged by war. He and his men are awarded Imperial Russian honours by the White forces.

Our curatorial staff are digitising these papers and improving the metadata for this material. As we complete this work, the digitised material will be added to the Memorial's already extensive online collection over the next few months. Check back frequently!

Material Undergoing Digitisation by Australian War Memorial Staff

Elope Force
1DRL/0158 - Brown, Allan (Captain, b.? - d.1919)
PR85/324 - Kelly, John Robert Cowan (Sergeant, b.1893 - d.1985)
3DRL/7709 - Perry, Bertram Harold MM (Sergeant, b.1895 – d:?)

North Russian Relief Force
3DRL/6371 - Baverstock, William B (Private, 4th Bn AIF and North Russian          Relief Force)
3DRL/7086 - Robinson, Wilfred John (Private)
PR84/295 - Brooke, Norman M (Private, DCM, 45th Bn Royal Fusiliers, British     Army b.1898)
PR89/140 - Heathcote, Ernest John (Alias Frederick M Whatson)
PR91/126 – Yeaman, Wilfred Charles (Private)

Black Sea
PR90/147 - Brewster, Basil (Lieutenant, RN, Lt-Commander RAN b.1896 -             d.1981)
1DRL/0527 - Munro, Douglas (Sub Lieutenant, b.1894 – d.?)
1DRL/0133 - Bond, Arthur George Hayes (Commander, b.1872 - d.?)

Other
2DRL/1138 - MacDowell, Florence Ina (Civilian, British Red Cross)

Oral Histories

S00180 - Norman Montague Brooke DCM, as a private, 1st Pioneer Battalion and 2nd Medium Trench Mortar Battery, First World War, later of the 45th Battalion Royal Fusiliers, Russia, 1919 interviewed by Stuart Menzies

S00181 - Private Wilfred John Robinson, AIF, First World War and 45th Royal       Fusiliers, North Russian Relief Force 1919, interviewed by Stuart Menzies

Further Reading

“A 'Pathetic Sideshow': Australians and the Russian Intervention, 1918-      1919”, Jeffrey Grey, first published in Journal of the Australian War Memorial 7,     October 1985, pp. 12–17, available online.

“North Russia Relief Force,” Lionel Wigmore, first published in They dared            mightily, 2^nd revised edition, Australian War Memorial, Canberra 1986, pp.          181-182, available online.

“North Russia Relief Force, 1918-1919”, War Memorial Encyclopedia, 2017.

“The Royal Australian Navy in Southern Russia 1918-1920”, Greg Swinden, first published in Semaphore 03, April 2018, Sea Power Centre, Australia, available online.

The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2124) Private William George Averkoff, 47^th Australian Infantry Battalion, AIF, First World War, 22 February 2020, available online.