Everything tagged: Russia

Mr Orloff's life was summarised in newspapers after he was found dead with wrist injuries at home in Flat 516, the United Apartments, Great George Street, Causeway Bay (now Island Beverley Centre): 

Michael Yatskin

Born in Siberia Russia around 1910 . Escaped due to revolution via Harbin Shanghai then Hong Kong. Prisoner of war at Sham Shui PO prison camp for over 3 years? I have a book of sketches by Lieut  A.V. Skvorzov of life in the prison camp . I believe there is one in the museum in Hong Kong.

He was an engineer in the PWD in Hong Kong when he was head of works at Sham Shui Po in 1955 when the Li Cheng Uk tomb was discovered. His subsequent actions saved the tomb.

Peter M. Piankoff was born in Irkutsk, Siberia which he left with his wife Evodika Filipoona in 1907 to run a bakery in Harbin. After a brief spell in Vladivostok in 1914-1915 the couple returned to Harbin and left Russia for good. (See https://gwulo.com/node/45369) He seems to have come to Hong Kong in or around 1924.

Michael Martin writes:

Leo Borisoff was a White Russian Policeman in HK and in Stanley Camp and he was friends with my grandfather and his cousin Vitaly 'Vic' Veriga.

The first mention I see for him is in the 1933 Jurors List, where he is working as a Steward at the H.K. & Shanghai Hotels, Ld. By the 1941 List, he's still with the same company but promoted to Maitre d'Hotel.

John Black's copy of the CWGC list of internees at Stanley has a typo in the surname: "V I Olafinsky". It gives his occupation in 1941 as "Ast Hotel Manager", and DoB as 1905.

The information comes from Nona's website, which has lots more information about her aunt Jenny.