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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

The Countess Benckendorff


robbie

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Found a picture of this lady in The Times History of the War - second chapter on POWs. Interestingl that she was called "Chairman"..in 1970s-1980s she would have been called "Chairwoman"..nowadays she'd be called "Chairperson".

Anyway, aside from this, does anyone have any knowledge of why she was in charge of Rusian POWs? Was it a charity?

Robbie

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Guest Pete Wood

The countess helped form the PoW fund in 1915, following reports by a British army doctor who had witnessed the appalling conditions, and treatment, of Russian prisoners in captivity.

Her obituary will explain more. She died on June 1st 1928.

post-6-1098818504.jpg

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The countess helped form the PoW fund in 1915, following reports by a British army doctor who had witnessed the appalling conditions, and treatment, of Russian prisoners in captivity.

Her obituary will explain more. She died on June 1st 1928.

Tremendous thanks mate. Where did you find the obituary?

Robbie

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My bed is eight feet off the ground, because of all the old copies of The Times stuffed under there ;)

Hope your ceilings are high, then.

Don't you have drawers under your bed?

Robbie

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More information re COuntess Sophie Benckendorff.

The obituary kindly posted by RT seems to have made an error in her maiden name. In the peerage docs she had the maiden name of Suvalova.

Sophia Suvalova was born on 16 October 1857. She married Alexander von Benckendorff, son of Konstantine von Benckendorff and Johanne Prinzessin von Croÿ, on 16 October 1879 at St. Petersburg, Russia. She died on 28 May 1928 at age 70.

Children of Sophia Suvalova and Alexander von Benckendorff:

Constantin von Benckendorff+ b. 15 Sep 1880, d. 25 Sep 1959

Peter von Benckendorff b. 1882, d. 1915

Natalie Louise von Benckendorff+ b. 1886

Constantin von Benckendorff (M)

b. 15 September 1880, d. 25 September 1959, #97595

Pedigree

Last Edited=10 May 2003

Constantin von Benckendorff was the son of Alexander von Benckendorff and Sophia Suvalova. He was born on 15 September 1880. He married Maria Korchinska in 1922. He died on 25 September 1959 at age 79 at London, England.

RIN: 16410 PREFIX: Count 416410.

Children of Constantin von Benckendorff and Maria Korchinska:

Nathalie von Benckendorff+ b. 8 Sep 1923

Alexander von Benckendorff+ b. 19 Jul 1925

Robbie

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more re Nathalie von Benckendorff who is mentioned in the obituary:

Natalie Louise von Benckendorff (F)

b. 1886, #97608

Pedigree

Natalie Louise von Benckendorff was the daughter of Alexander von Benckendorff and Sophia Suvalova. She was born in 1886. She married Hon. Sir Jaspar Nicholas Ridley, son of Sir Matthew White Ridley, 1st Viscount Ridley and Hon. Mary Georgiana Marjoribanks, on 28 April 1911 at London, England.

Children of Natalie Louise von Benckendorff and Hon. Sir Jaspar Nicholas Ridley:

Katharine Sophy Ridley+ b. 19 Mar 1912

Jasper Alexander Maurice Ridley+ b. 20 Apr 1913, d. 13 Dec 1944

Constantine Anthony Ridley b. 9 Mar 1916

Oliver John Ridley b. 14 Oct 1918

Robbie

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An eagel-eyed forum member has kindly alerted me to the fact that Petronova whas in fact the countess' second christian name. It is her surname that is spelt differently in the two documents. Silly me, sorry RT.

Robbie <_<

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Strictly speaking, Petrovna is a patronymic, a personal name based on the name of the father, in this case Pierre.

Gary

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AN interesting link from Benckdendorff to the Romanovs (Tsar):

The identity of Alexei Tammet-Romanov's foster mother, Paula Veermann, may provide a clue. Her maiden name was Paula von Benckendorff-Kanna. Research into the genealogy of the Benckendorff family has suggested that Paula may have been related to Count Paul Benckendorff, Grand Marshall of the Tsar's Imperial Court. Count Benckendorff was known to have led the efforts to find the Romanovs a place of exile or rescue right up to the time of the murders.

http://members.surfeu.fi/thaapanen/Articles/st12.html

Robbie

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