Lithuanian Australians in World War 2

The recent 75th commemoration of D-Day (the allied landings in Normandy) reminded me that there were also Australian Lithuanian servicemen and women who participated in World War Two.

At least 25 Australian servicemen who served during WW2 (1939-45) recorded their place of birth as Lithuania. Some were born in independent Lithuania (from1918) while others had been born while the country was still part of the czarist Russian empire. Here are a few of their stories.

Myer ALTMAN, born 9 May 1923 in Kaunas was living in Mosman (Sydney) with his father Samuel when he enlisted at Sydney University - he was an economics student there - in October 1941. He continued to serve in Australia until discharge in January 1946.

Judah John DAVIES, born 21 October 1905 in Kaunas enlisted in May 1941 at Paddington (Sydney). He was a motor accessories traveller, married to Betty Shwabsky Davies, and saw active service in the Middle East and New Guinea before being discharged on medical grounds in September 1944.

John KELLERT (Jonas KELERTAS), born 9 June 1924 in Panevežys, enlisted at Bankstown (Sydney) in July 1942. He qualified as a radio/radar mechanic and served in New Guinea from October 1943 to May 1944, discharged in October 1946.

Harry KURZKI had been born in 1893 in Kaunas and served in the Russian army during WW1 during which time he received a gunshot wound to the head. He arrived in Australia in 1925 and enlisted at Paddington (Sydney) at the age of 49 but was discharged after one month as medically unfit.

Zalman LEVI (also known as Zale ZAPOLSKI) had been born in 1904 in Lazdijai and enlisted at Claremont (Perth) in June 1942 at the age of 38. He was married, an antique dealer, and only 5'3" tall, but recorded continuous full-time war service in Western Australia, New South Wales, and the Northern Territory until January 1946.

Walter MARCIN (Vladimiras MARCINKEVIČIUS), born 9 December 1917 in Kaunas had arrived in Australia in 1928 with his parents and settled in Arncliffe (Sydney). He had attended the Royal Art Society of NSW and the Julian Ashton Art School while completing a 5 year apprenticeship as a stained glass draughtsman. Walter enlisted with the RAAF in March 1943, served as aircrew and navigator before being promoted to Flight Sergeant and Warrant Officer and joining the RAF (in the UK) in May 1944. He survived the war in Europe and was discharged in January 1946. 

Anthony PATRICK (Antanas PETRAITIS), born 10 September 1908 in Sintautai had arrived with his family in 1928 from Scotland and worked in Sydney as a french polisher. He enlisted in May 1943 and provided 1030 days of active service within Australia until the end of the war.

As well as the above, the following Australian WW2 servicemen recorded Lithuania as their place of birth. Many were Lithuanian Jews, several were from the same family:

Isdore BERMAN (Idelis BERMANAS) from Jurbarkas;
Bernard BLOCH (BLOCHAS) from Varniai;
Max BLOCH;
William BLOCH;
Kay Kazys BRAZ (BRAZAUSKAS) from Kaunas;
Samuel EPSTEIN from Kaunas;
David GOLDBERG from Kaunas;
Hyman GRAY from Zanov(?);
Sundel HANEMANN from Memel (Klaipeda);
Maurice MARGOLIS from Vilnius;
Noel MILLER (Chane MILERIS) from Nemakščiai;
Leon PLATUS from Godz(?);
Max PLATUS;
Edgar SEEBERG from Zabelai(?);
Harry SEGAL from Žagare;
Albert SILVER from Židikai;
Leslie SILVER;
Peter Stasium STANTON (Petras STASIUNAS) from Pašvitinys.

Still others who served Australia during WW2 were the Australian-born descendants of Lithuanian immigrants; for example Lt Frank John AUGUSTUS, the son of Pranas and Magdalena AUGUSTAITIS who had arrived in 1924 from Scotland; and Aircraftwoman Frances Merle SIMKUS, the grandaughter of William ŠIMKUS who had been born around 1861 in Memel (Klaipeda) and arrived in NSW in 1886. Others included Bombardier Anthony Joseph ALANSKAS from Western Australia and Staff Sergeant Anthony Wedrien from Sydney.



Sources: NAA (National Archives of Australia) and Ancestry.com

Arrivals from Memel/Klaipeda

Men from the port town of Memel or the surrounding region, known as Memelland, were among the earliest from historically Lithuanian lands to arrive in Australia.

Memel was the German name for the town which has been known as Klaipeda after it became part of Lithuania in the 1920s.  The town and surrounding region (part of 'Lithuania Minor') have a complex history.  By the late nineteenth century the region contained a mix of  Prussian Lithuanians and descendents of settlers brought in from other parts of Europe, including Germany and Switzerland; it was ruled by the Kingdom of Prussia, which in turn became part of the German Empire.  While the Russian Empire ruled the larger part of what was subsequently to become the Republic of Lithuania, the inhabitants of Memelland had greater personal freedoms than their cousins across the border in the Russian Empire, and it is not surprising that the earliest 'Lithuanian' migrants we come across tend to originate from the German side of the border. In addition, coming from a port town it is probably not too surprising that most of their occupations were maritime.

Here are a few examples of the early arrivals:

William SIMKUS.  This man had a distinctive Lithuanian surname.

'The British clipper ship Laomene under full sail at sea'
by Antonio Jacobsen (commons.wikimedia.org)

Family histories posted on Ancestry.com record that he was born in Memel in 1861 or 1862 and arrived in New South Wales in 1886 aboard the Laomene, a sailing ship registered in Liverpool, as a member of the crew.  In 1891 he married Agnes Blishen in East Maitland NSW and became a naturalised British citizen in 1893.  William worked as a labourer, seaman, dredgehand, and night watchman.  He was living at Carrington NSW at the time of his death in 1897 and was survived by his wife and two sons. One of the sons, William Gordon Simkus, went on to serve in the AIF during the First World War.

Karl PLUMBACH, a ship's carpenter born in Memel was sent from England to Australia as a convict aboard the Fanny in 1816 (he is recorded in Elena Govor's Russian Convicts in Australia).  His surname suggests germanic ancestry.

Frederick Robert SUPPLIES; born around 1834 in Memel, he married Mary Breeze in Tasmania in 1855 and was drowned off New Zealand in 1863 while serving as 2nd mate aboard the Hargraves.  A discussion on Rootschat.com suggests his family origins were Swiss or German.

John RUSSELL, a seaman born in Memel in 1827 arrived at Port Adelaide on the Mersey in 1859. South Australian government records indicate that he worked as a labourer at Smithfield, Clare, and Tothill's Creek in South Australia, and died a single man aged 40 of diphtheria in 1867.  His original surname appears to have been changed or anglicised to Russell.

Johann Joseph URBAN.  Family histories posted on Ancestry.com record that he was born in Memel in 1830 and married in Williamstown  near Melbourne in 1867.  He died in Williamstown in 1877.