Capt Henry Norman Austin - British Mil Mission South Russia

[corisande]

The men who joined the Auxiliaries in Ireland in 1920 were a very mixed bunch. This man is one of them

Click for my notes on him, which include MIC

The MIC shows he was serving in British Mil Mission South Russia on 1 Mar 1920, and was no.4 Liason Group as Q Liason Officer.

I have no reference books on this campaign. Can anyone who has, tell me if Capt Norman merits a mention anywhere.

[IPT]

He wrote an article entitled "Some Experiences in Russia, 1919.” Army Quarterly (Jul 1935): pp. 315-26. Yours for £6.60 +postage - http://www.abebooks.co.uk/ARMY-QUARTERLY-VOL-XXX-NO-2/544169315/bd

[IPT]

In September 1937, there's a Capt H.N. Austin of Bramble Rise, Danbury involved in a collision while driving with a lady passenger from Maldon to Danbury.

[corisande]

Thanks IPT, I have ordered that Journal now.

And that crash must be him given that he was living in Chelmsford at the time - I confess I had to look up where Danbury was!

[stephen p nunn]

In September 1937, there's a Capt H.N. Austin of Bramble Rise, Danbury involved in a collision while driving with a lady passenger from Maldon to Danbury.

Still a dangerous road!

Regards.

SPN

Maldon

[IPT]

Still a dangerous road!

Watch out for Box Iron Cottage corner. That's where Austin came unstuck. due to an oncoming lorry on the wrong side of the road.

[corisande]

IPT

My thanks to you and the efficiency of the web, said Journal now reached Southern Spain not much more than a week after you spotted it

[corisande]

The nub of his article is about his journey to join Gen. Dragomiroff's Army Staff at Kiev. After a somewhat fraught journey by armoured trains, he reached the General at Festoff on 14 Dec. He met up with the only other British officers on this front - Dale and Ainger.

They then retreated with the Russians, mainly by train, arriving back at Osessa on Dec 26th. He says that there were only 6 British Officers in Odessa plus the 3 of them on the train

I never realised that the mission was that smaill

Interesting too that within 10 months of getting off the train in Osessa, Austin is stepping ashore in Ireland as a member of the Auxiliaries, and no longer a British soldier

Another Auxiliary was Maj. E. C. Bruce click who was also in South Russia. He was gazetted DSO for his tank action in South Russia

1919 Jun 29 (Gazetted 1920 Apr 23) His Majesty the King has been graciously pleased to approve of the following immediate awards for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in South Russia: Distinguished Service Order. T./Ma. Ewen Cameron Bruce, M.C., Tank Corps. For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty on the 29th June, 1919, when in command of a British Tank Corps Detachment operating against Tsaritsin. He went up in an aeroplane for reconnaissance purposes in connection with operations to be undertaken next day and shot down an enemy observation balloon, thereby preventing the discovery of the Tank Concentration by the enemy. On the 30th June he led his Tank Detachment with skill and gallantry under heavy fire, and later, when he found that the enemy were counter-attacking the right flank, he personally led three tanks into action and destroyed the counter-attack. He was largely responsible for the success of the operation, and his gallant conduct was an excellent example to the British and to the Russian Tank Corps.

I am unclear as to whether Bruce was one of the 6 British Officers that Austin met up with in Odessa on 26 Dec 1919. Anyone know?

[IPT]

In 1936, it seems that he and his future wife, Dora Josephine Bright, were partners in the Azure Cafe in Maldon. Here's an entry in the LG winding up their partnership with a third party;

http://www.london-ga...es/867/page.pdf

[IPT]

They may have just missed each other;

TANK CORPS.

Temp. Maj. E. C. Bruce, M.'C., relinquish.

es his commission on account of ill health

contracted on active service, 12 Dec.

1919, and retains the rank of Maj

[stephen p nunn]

In 1936, it seems that he and his future wife, Dora Josephine Bright, were partners in the Azure Cafe in Maldon. Here's an entry in the LG winding up their partnership with a third party;

http://www.london-ga...es/867/page.pdf

It was in King George's Place - the main section of the building is still there. My grandfather helped build it!

SPN

Maldon

Watch out for Box Iron Cottage corner. That's where Austin came unstuck. due to an oncoming lorry on the wrong side of the road.

A very dangerous bend. The cottage has now gone and the road re-directed. The section mentioned is now a field.

SPN

Maldon

[corisande]

Thanks guys for the extra information. Looks as I I will neither be able to have a cup of coffee in the Azure Cafe, nor check out the sharp bend!

I know that Bruce probably left Russia in Aug 1919, so he would not have been at the party. I do not know when Austin arrived in Russia. That story of his certainly places him in Odessa in December 1919

The Tank Corps History that I quote under Bruce shows a lot of detail of what the tanks were doing there in early 1919. I don't understand if Auston and his handful of companions were the rump of an expedition that had earlier included the tanks, or if it was something completely different

[corisande]

Michael Young's book on Army Service Corps has a snippet of the ASC in South Russia, the implication from his dates are that the ASC involvement mainly ended at end 1919

"..mention must be made of the British Military Mission under Major General H C Holman CB CMG DSO, which assisted the anti Bolshevik forces in South Russia 1918-1919, mainly based in Osessa. A number of ASC officers, clerks and car drivers were attached to this mission (he then gives a list of men with more details. Lt.Col HG Reid, Major GWC Hickie, , Major G Simpson, Major J Ward, Capt G Girdlestone-Edwards, Lt Col A W Chichester) ...their work was mainly advisory or connected with the distribution of supplies and war material, including 25 workshop lorries, 374 lorries, 55 cars, 215 motor cycles and 378 cycles made over by the allies to Gen Denikin, the South Russian leader. These people, albeit under different circumstances, had as difficult and as adventurous time as their compatriots in the north. (he then gives details of the deaths of Pte H Nixon and Pte C E Morgan in Jan 1920 of Typhus and Cpl G O'Neill in Sep 1919, shot by "Green Guards" (sic)). The campaign in Russia is poorly documented and only limited material exists on the work of the ASC"

I added the ASC men's names so that they get indexed!

And a quick search on Major Gen Holman gives me

Major-General, Chief of the British Military Mission to South Russia 22.5.1919 - 15.4.1920,

So it would appear that was the date he ceased to act in South Russia

And there is a very good write up of South Russian Intervention on this link - click

[Sidearm]

Thanks for that link Corisande - excellent!

Gwyn

[Sayer]

Hullo

Major Bruce , another officer and 20 men were sent back to England by General Holman after "a bit of trouble" (my father's words) by August 13 1919

.......................................................

In 1919 my father, Major H.S.Sayer, was sent by the War Office (and Churchill ?) to the British Military Mission at Taganrog in South Russia to check on and help set up the White Russian Volunteer Army Tank Corps. It seems that he had created and controlled the Tank Schools of Instruction in France.

He worked with the British Tank Corps detachment there and we have photographs of members of the Tank Corps, also a Nominal Roll of the Officers and men of the South Russian Tank Detachment and possibly a photo of the entire British Military Mission at Taganrog.

My wife and I, Sayer Press, will be publishing "A Somewhat Unusual Journey Victoria Station to Taganrog* containing my father's report on his visit to South Russia in the late summer of 1919, a number of his photographs and a quantity of the relevant documents he had kept: c.137 pages, paperback, Perfect Binding. We HOPE to publish it in January / February 2014, as a limited edition

There are detailed accounts of various tank battles, for example a full description of the first battle of Tsaritsyn (Stalingrad / Volgograd) involving Major Bruce and Captains Walsh and McElvaine. Also detailed articles about the organisation of the Russian Tank Corps, and a great deal more.

Colin Sayer

.

[bushfighter]

Corisande

Happy New Year

You might find Farewell to the Don, the journal of Brigadier H.N.H. Williamson interesting background reading.

Presently you can pick up a copy on Amazon for 7.50 sterling: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Farewell-Don-H-N-H-Williamson/dp/0002111640/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389029927&sr=1-1&keywords=farewell+to+the+don

Good Luck - I want to read your book before I hear the final Last Post!

Harry

[James A Pratt III]

reply #13 mentions 2 typhus deaths in Russia. The country went through a massive typhus epidemic during the period 1918-1920 that killed large numbers of people including:

General N Y Ivanov the former South west front commander 1914-16

General A A Polivanov Tsarist was minister 1914-16

Vladimir Purishkevich who helped murder Rasputin

Paul Medvedev who helped murder Tsar Nicholas II and family

[corisande]

Colin

Thanks for that snippet. I have added it to my notes on Bruce

Harry

You are always a fountain of knowledge on reference books. I have ordered that now

[Sayer]

Hullo all

The book is now ready : -

“A Somewhat Unusual Journey”

Victoria Station to Taganrog

A War Office Mission to Russia 1919

which should be published officially on March 5th, if we have given Nielsens enough time..

…............................

The book is a 132 page paperback with Perfect Binding, 21cm by 24cm, containing my father's diary, 30 documents (50 pages} and 47 photographs of varying size. All the photographs are my father's, from 1919, and almost all the documents are also from 1919 – a few are from 1920.

It is a limited edition: about 80 copies will be available for sale, available from Sayer Press, 2 Oak Villas, Stonehill, Ottershaw, Chertsey, Surrey KT16 0ER. Cheques to C.G.Sayer. It is £12.50 plus £2 p&p,

I have mentioned a DVD (CD ?) which will soon also be available @ £2.50 with the book, if you would like it. I am working on it now and it should be complete in a few days. I intend for it to have scans of all the originals of the documents in the book as well as a number of others not in the book. A number of the articles in the book are transcribed into Courier text as getting scanned versions good enough to print in a book is not easy at all.

I am hoping to start a new Topic in this Forum in a day or two, because we are hoping that the book will generate enough interest among enthusiasts for us to accumulate added details and information which we would then put into a structured form available to anyone interested. (What you have all offered will be included, of course.)

This happened to such an extent when we published "A Royal Safari 1930" that we found ourselves producing a 32 page printed booklet with the extra information that arrived from around the world.... (We do NOT expect to be publishing another 32 page booklet on Taganrog !!)

If we start another Topic I'll let you know.

Enough for now Colin Sayer

[Sayer]

Hullo all

The details of the book and disc are now on "Misc items for sale and events".

Colin

[wrightdw]

The British Military Mission South Russia at its height consisted of 2,000 officers and men, primarily AOC, ASC, RA & RE as well as infantry instructors drawn from all the Regiments and also RN and RAF liaison.

Having said that, the BMM had dozens of small detachments in the field, often officers were serving by themselves or in small groups.

Not much available on BMM S. Russia 1919-20 at all, not much on British/Commonwealth forces in Russia 1918-20. The only two Books I can think of are Williamson's "Farewell to the Don" (he was awarded one of 3 DSO's for S. Russia) and Boustead's "Wind of Morning" has a chapter on his service as a MG instructor for which he was awarded an MC Bar.

ASC officers and men were certainly serving with the BMM in the Crimea up to June 1920, the BMM officially disbanded the following month.

Ordering a copy of your book today Colin. Glad I came across this thread.