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May I suggest that you navigate the
site via the
index on page 01.
 PRIOR PAGE / NEXT PAGE
If you want to make a comment,
a site guestbook is here. Test.
On this page ...
data about Czar, Vojshvillo
artwork, medals to Czar crew, Jānis Smiltnieks,
fine 1913 images, Charles Hogger,
Jan Saulesley, Volturno survivors rescued by Czar,
Czar postcards, Czar documents,
an earlier Czar, page bottom.
To search for specific text on this page, just press 'CTRL +
F' & then enter your search term.
I will place on this page such data as can be found about the
Czar, a steamer that was part of the Volturno rescue fleet
& indeed landed 102
Volturno survivors at the port of Rotterdam, The Netherlands, on Oct. 14, 1913. Hopefully the page will expand
as new data becomes available.
THE CZAR
I like to start off each vessel page with a good and preferably large image of the particular ship. With the
Czar, that has not been easy to do because of a lack of available imagery. However
a postcard of the
Czar, mailed, I understand,
in May 1920 was sold on eBay in early Dec. 2004 for U.S. $22.00. For a
number of months, I showed the eBay listing image on this page since it was the
only Czar image I had. But now the purchaser of the item, Alexey
Shirokoff from Moscow, has kindly been in contact & has provided a large scan of that postcard. Alexey, thank
you so very much. The image is splendid!
On this
page (left column,
about 55% down)
there would seem to be an image of the vessel as a troop ship.
For quite a while, I was not able to find any data whatsoever about the
Czar. But, Ted Finch has
come to the rescue. Ted answered
a question about the ship in 1998 on a rootsweb message board. It would seem
that the Czar had a long life (1912-1949) & many names. Ted essentially advised as follows
(with additions from other sources):
The Czar was a 6,503 gross ton ship, built by Barclay, Curle & Co,
of Glasgow
in 1912 for the Russian American Line (Russian East Asiatic Steamship Co.). Her details were - length 425 ft x
beam 53.2 ft, two funnels, two masts, twin screw & a speed of 15 knots.
There was accommodation for 30 - 1st class, 260 - 2nd class & 1,086 - 3rd & 4th class
passengers.
She was launched on Mar. 23, 1912. Her maiden voyage was from Libau to
Copenhagen & New York on May 30, 1912. (I learn that Libau is the English name for
Liepaja, an ice-free Latvian port on the Baltic Sea.) Her last voyage on this service
started on Jul. 17, 1914 & on Sep. 13, 1914 she commenced Archangel - New
York sailings. After the Russian revolution, she was transferred to British
registry & placed under the management of the Cunard SS Co. In 1919 she was
laid up it would seem, & in Sep. 1920 transferred to Baltic American
Line. In Jan. 1921
she was returned to the East Asiatic Co of Copenhagen (owners of the Russian
American Line).
They renamed her Estonia & placed her on the transatlantic service
with the Baltic American Line. On Jan. 11, 1921, she sailed from
Glasgow for New York, Danzig & Libau, & on Feb. 23, 1921 commenced Libau
- Danzig - Boston - New York sailings.
In Feb. 1925, she was refitted to
accommodate 290 cabin & 500 3rd class passengers & in Mar. 1926 was
refitted again
to 110 cabin, 180 tourist & 500 3rd class passengers. Her last Danzig -
Copenhagen - Halifax - New York voyage started on Jan. 31, 1930 & she was
then (in Feb. 1930) sold to the Polish owned Gdynia-America Line.
On Mar. 13, 1930, she started a single round voyage between Danzig,
Copenhagen, Halifax & New York & was then renamed Pulaski. She started
sailing between Danzig, Halifax & New York under this name on Apl. 25, 1930 & commenced her last North
Atlantic voyage - Gdynia - Copenhagen -
Halifax - New York on Aug. 18, 1935. Transferred to the Gdynia - Buenos
Aires service on Feb. 28, 1936 & started her last voyage on this route on Apl. 21, 1939. On Aug. 24, 1939, just before the outbreak of WWII, she
sailed from Gdynia for Falmouth & was used as a troopship during WWII. She was
again renamed - Empire Penryn, under British registry in 1946 &
arrived on Feb. 19, 1949 at Blyth to be scrapped.
This page
(Penryn) seems to indicate that she may
have been managed by a number of other companies in her lifetime. Look under 'Penryn'. And there is more detailed data
here. Look under 'Pulaski' second
item down on the page when I visited. Thanks particularly to Marek Twardowski. There may possibly be an image available through the
University of Baltimore - there used to be a site which I cannot find again.
Miramar reference the vessel here.
But you need to register to access the data now.
I have now found a couple of images of the vessel. At left below is the
Czar, later in life after
she had been renamed the Estonia in Jan. 1921. And at right, an image after she was named the
Empire Penryn in 1946. The Estonia image came from the enormous 'Ships and Ships'
site that Aleksi Lindström of Finland used to maintain.
It seems to be no longer in operation, today. The image at right is courtesy of Heinz
Nederkorn whose fine Cunard site I believe, also no longer exists. We thank them both! Both images are, in fact, of the very same ship, I trust? To my eye the ships' proportions look quite
different. It has been a while since I checked this page. The image at right
was not on Heinz's site in 2007 & now the site is gone.
'kochsmolli' advises that the vessel at right below is, in fact, Campania
of 1893.
Can you help
with new data? Perhaps with more images of the ship?
I also read that
the Czar had departed New York, headed east, on
Oct. 4, 1913. Her route would seem to have been Rotterdam to New York via Halifax, Canada.
And that the Captain of the Czar wired a survivors list to
Rotterdam, on Oct. 13, 1913.
'THE SS TZAR ON OCTOBER 9th 1913' - by Russian artist Eugeniy Vojshvillo
The fine postcard image of the Czar that I presented above, was provided to the webmaster by Alexey Shirokoff of Moscow. Alexey has
since provided a fine image of an artwork by Russian marine artist Eugeniy Vojshvillo entitled
'The SS Tzar on October 9th 1913'. I will first show you the full work. And then a section of the work, the bottom left area
which shows the Volturno burning & the stern of the Tzar.
Alexey advises me that the image is of an illustration that appeared in a 1980s
magazine entitled 'Morskoy flot', which means 'Sea
fleet' in English.
I have tried to find data on the WWW about the artist, so far with little success.
Alexey tells me, however, that he lived in St. Petersburg. There was a reference to a marine artist
named E. V. Voishvillo, on a 'Museum of the World Ocean' page
(of Kaliningrad, Russia) where they referred in a 4th paragraph to 'drawings by the outstanding painter of seascapes E. V. Voishvillo',
which painter is, I trust, the same artist. But I cannot spot any such reference
any longer, in 2010.
The work is wonderful
& is a fine addition to the site!
CZAR CREW MEMBERS WHO RECEIVED MEDALS
On Jan Daamen's
site there is a list of the crew of
the
Czar provided by Tony Jones of North Wales. Here, with his kind permission, is Tony's list,
which I believe is of medal recipients re the Volturno rescue. 20
names in total. Thank you, Tony!
| Ivan Ivanowitsch Smiltnieks |
Captain |
Andrei Janow Spalwin |
Seaman |
| Jan Nicholaiewitsch Zemtur |
1st Mate |
Jan Tomasow Lepik |
Seaman |
| Jan Jorenow Saulesley |
2nd mate |
Augustin Alexandrowitsch Marip |
Seaman |
| Andrei Jacowlew Janowsky |
3rd mate |
Karl Janos Eggy |
Seaman |
| Fritz Karlowitsch Weibner |
4th mate |
Jan Adamow Acztyn |
Seaman |
| Laas Petrow Ader |
Carpenter |
Martin Janow Karklin |
Seaman |
| Peter Jurjew Tenn |
Quartermaster |
Mikkel Janow Kiude |
Seaman |
| Alfred Gustavow Saar |
Quartermaster |
Tom Limanow Puleka |
Seaman |
| Ernst Janow Mengelson |
Quartermaster |
Krish Jumanow Winter |
Assistant
Steward |
| Girt Janow Shauklis |
Seaman |
Krish Andrejew Kolberg |
Barman |
It would seem that Captain Smiltnieks was granted a 'piece of plate',
yes indeed, see image below. And that the other 19 names were
awarded the Sea Gallantry Medal. Binocular glasses or pieces of plate were also awarded to officers Zemtur, Saulesley, Janowsky &
Weibner.
Charles Hogger?
SMILTNIEKS, Jānis (or Ivan
Ivanowitsch) (1876/1952)
For many years, the name of the Captain of the Czar has been
recorded above as 'Ivan Ivanowitsch Smiltnek' though there are other references
in contemporary newspaper reports to 'Smiltneck' also. In Dec. 2009,
correspondence was received from André Jan Smilts, (thank you André!) who advises that the Captain was his grandfather
on his father's side, but that his grandfather's name correctly was 'Jānis Smiltnieks'.
Which is a puzzle since all of the words in the previous recording of his name
must therefore be incorrect. André advises, however:- I
assume that his name was likely changed into the Russian way to spell it & maybe even
translated from Russian Cyrillic into English. It seemed to be quite common for
the authorities in those days to change the spelling of a person's name from the
name given them by their parents. Andre's wife adds that most of the
names of the crew of Czar, who received medals as above, seem to be Latvians
&
Estonians who also had their names 'Russified'. Anyway the Captain was Latvian & lived
at Liepaja (also known as Libau), Latvia. Indeed he became Harbour Captain there
after the Russian Revolution. He married Marie, who was of Danish origin. André
further advises that his grandfather escaped to Sweden during the war when
Latvia was invaded by the Soviet Russians & passed away in
Stockholm, Sweden, in 1952.
The 'Smiltnieks' family is possession of a gold watch which the
Captain received from Lloyd's & also a silver
bowl which he received from the British government, both respecting his services
re Volturno. His name is also misspelled on both
of them!
André has kindly provided some very fine images, related to his
grandfather, Jānis Smiltnieks, which follow
next on this page.
First a portrait of Jānis Smiltnieks, with Marie Smiltnieks, his wife, nee Matzen, born in Aabenraa, Denmark, at right.
Next, a fine image of the silver bowl, 'Presented by the British Government to Iwan Iwanowitsch Smiltneck, Master of the steamship "Czar," of Libau, in acknowledgement of his humanity and kindness to
the shipwrecked crew and passengers of the steamship "Volturno" of London, which was burnt in the North Atlantic Ocean on the 9th October 1913.' Image thanks to André Jan Smilts.
Next a composite image of the 'Lloyd's' gold Tiffany watch which was 'Presented
to the Captain of the steamer "Czar" Mr. Ivan Smiltneck for his bravery on the
high sea in saving 102 souls of "S.S. Volturno" Oct. 10th 1913. - A. E.
Johnson, Henry Norman, Max Norman, Max Straus.' Images again thanks to André Jan Smilts.
André did direct us here (7th item down
but the link no longer works) for information in Latvian about his
grandfather. The webmasters skill with Latvian is non-existent, so I am glad
that I provided a
WWW translation of the Latvian text (probably full of errors & likely humorous
also) & then the original text.
Jānis Smiltnieks
J. Smiltnieks (1876.–1952.g.) – excellent seagoing master Latvian port of Liepaja and the Chairman of the Board
(1918.-1937.g.). Skolojies Liepaja naval college
and trade Academy in Copenhagen. During World War II was Russia's
Baltic Fleet transportkuģa "Lüdi" Commander. He, as President in 1918 arranged
for the Board of Liepaja port, the port police and the traffic by sea between
Liepaja, Ventspils and Riga. The trading ship, which was
robbed of the German occupation power, owns the
shipping traffic along the coast to foreign ports. Cleaned the port of grimekļiem - ships, tugs, boats.
His time of war held in the port reconstruction, sales channel deepening to spridzināšanu.
J. Smiltnieks bermontiešu attack was arranged during the amphibious floating
structures, highlighting the Pavilostas ammunition and transport by sea
between Liepaja and Riga, while he also helped the Latvian Provisional
Government of the British squadron to receive arms.
J. Smiltnieks was linked to a significant historical event - in the Atlantic
Ocean in 1913, when he courageously effected the rescue of passengers from the burning British ship "Volturno". He died in Stockholm. Awarded the
'Three Stars'.
J. Smiltnieks (1876.–1952.g.) – izcils latviešu
tālbraucējs kapteinis un Liepājas ostas valdes priekšsēdētājs (1918.–
1937.g.). Skolojies Liepājas jūrskolā un tirdzniecības akadēmijā Kopenhāgenā.
Pirmajā pasaules karā bijis Krievijas Baltijas flotes transportkuģa "Ludi"
komandieris. Viņš kā priekšsēdētājs 1918.gadā noorganizējis Liepājas ostas
valdi, ostas policiju un satiksmi pa jūru starp Liepāju, Ventspili un Rīgu. Ar
tirdzniecības tvaikoņiem, kas tika atņemti vācu okupācijas varai, nodibinājis
kuģniecības satiksmi gar piekrasti ar ārzemju ostām. Iztīrījis ostu no
grimekļiem – kuģiem, velkoņiem, laivām. Viņa laikā pēc kara notika ostas
atjaunošana, tirdzniecības kanāla padziļināšana ar spridzināšanu. J. Smiltnieks
bermontiešu uzbrukuma laikā noorganizēja peldlīdzekļus desanta izcelšanai pie
Pāvilostas un munīcijas transportu pa jūru starp Liepāju un Rīgu, turklāt viņš
arī palīdzēja Latvijas pagaidu valdībai no Lielbritānijas eskadras saņemt
ieročus. J. Smiltnieks saistīts vēl ar kādu nozīmīgu vēstures notikumu –
1913.gadā Atlantijas okeānā viņš varonīgi vadīja degošā Lielbritānijas kuģa "Valturno"
pasažieru glābšanu. Miris Stokholmā. Apbalvots ar Triju Zvaigžņu ordeni.
An article in the Oct. 10, 1936 issue of 'Kurzemes Vards', a Latvian newspaper, seems to refer to the Captain
& the Volturno. The whole newspaper is
here
& the article, from page 6 of that newspaper, is here.
In late Nov. 2010,
'out of the blue', an e-mail message was received from Dmitriev Dmitrij, of Riga, Latvia. Bearing gifts indeed.
Thanks so very much, Dmitriev! Three very fine images, including, in the
first image that follows, images of, per Dmitriev, both Jānis Smiltnieks
(at right) & Jan Nicholaiewitsch Zemtur, the First Mate, (at left).
Now I often adjust images with Picasa to make images more 'black & white'. But this
first period image is just superb just as it is. As first follows. The complete
image can be seen here.
The second image below shows, I do believe, the same two officers with a damaged
Czar lifeboat, again Jānis Smiltnieks at right & Jan Zemtur
(in the middle). 'Black & white' adjusted in this case.
And last but not least is a fine image of the
Czar crew. But neither 'Smiltnieks' nor 'Zemtur' seem to be in this
particular image.
Thanks so much, Dmitriev. All three images are
wonderful & are fine additions to the site.
THE RESCUE ROLE OF CHARLES HOGGER
- RADIO OPERATOR OF THE CZAR
Two guestbook messages from Liz Marchbank (1 & 2), the detective work of
Liz's cousin John Hogger,
& the archives of 'Veteran Wireless Operators Association', (thank you all!), reveal the interesting involvement of Charles Hogger in the
dramatic 1913 Volturno rescue. An image of Charles is at
left next below.
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Charles Hogger (1875/1970),
was born in Weymouth, Dorset, & began his working life as a seaman. In his 30s,
however,
he developed what proved to be a lifelong interest in 'wireless' communications. And when
Volturno was on fire in Oct. 1913, Charles was the Radio Operator,
perhaps the Chief Radio Officer, of
Czar, one of the many vessels that were at the disaster scene in mid Atlantic.
Czar indeed has the distinction of being one of the two
vessels which rescued the largest number of passengers & crew of Volturno
- 102 in total. (Grosser Kurfürst was the other vessel - it
rescued a total of 105 passengers & crew).
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Charles Hogger's name is not included in the above list of names of Czar
crew members who were awarded the prestigious Sea Gallantry Medal or pieces of
plate or binoculars. So what, you may ask, was his involvement in the rescue?
I can best answer that question by stating that later in
life, in Feb. 1938, he was honoured at a meeting of the
Commercial Telegraphers Union of America, & was presented
with a scroll and a citation of the 'The Veteran Wireless Operators Association
Incorporated' which reads in part as follows:-
Hogger's
first appearance in the limelight was in 1913, when he was on the S. S.
Tzar, of the Russian-American Line, en route from the United States to
Russia. The S. S. Volturno had caught fire in mid-ocean, and although
four liners were standing by, none of them could launch boats on account of
the high seas. The Tzar, however, dared the waves and launched three
boats, the last of which was manned by operator Hogger after the First and
Second Officer of the ship had refused to make a third attempt to reach the
vessel. For the part he played in rescuing forty-three children in this last
rescue party, Hogger was given, in person, a solid gold watch, by Czar
Nicholas of Russia.
The citation, you can see it
next below,
shows the very gold watch that he received from the hand of Czar Nicholas.
The webmaster can only accept this new & interesting information. He
certainly cannot
quarrel with Czar Nicholas whose award surely indicates that Charles Hogger's role
in the Volturno rescue must have been significant. But the
webmaster should point out that other data elsewhere
on this page & in this site indicates that five 'trips' were made to the scene by
Czar lifeboats.
Very early on Oct. 10, 1913, in total darkness, when other vessels had ceased
sending boats until daylight. The first was under the command of the Chief Officer Zemtur. The 2nd thru 4th commanded by the
third officer Janowsky & the 5th commanded by the second officer/2nd mate Saulesley or Saulesly.
All of whom were granted Sea Gallantry Medals as clearly were also the seamen
who manned the oars. Why was a Sea Gallantry Medal not issued to Charles Hogger? I cannot answer that question. I can only suggest that the data
available so far may prove to be fragmentary & hope that more data might yet
emerge to clarify the events.
We cannot show you the certificate that Charles Hogger was given
that day in Feb. 1938. But we can show you a blank of the
certificate document, which, completed & signed of course, would have been
presented to him.
The WWW has most limited data available about Charles Hogger. A data
'snippet' is
available here ex here.
And near the bottom of this
page are the following words 'Honor scrolls went to ... and to Charles Hogger, a much-honored operator
once personally decorated by the Czar of Russia. Mr. Hogger, his lapel heavy with medals, was a guest.'
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Now the
webmaster may be
quite wrong in his conclusion, but it seems likely Charles Hogger is shown in this image above
on this page - the left officer of the two seated
officers as you view the sepia image. You can see both images at left. It seems to me
at least that there is a strong facial similarity between the unidentified officer at
left, taken I presume in 1913, & the Charles Hogger image at right, taken 25
years later.
Could facial recognition software give a
percentage likelihood that both images are of the same person?
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THE WORDS OF JAN SAULESLEY, 2nd MATE OF THE CZAR
Melissa
Groeneveld, whose family were aboard the Volturno & all survived, has provided me with
a lengthy typed account,
attributed
to K. Funken or Funben, a 26 year old crew member of the Volturno
on
that fateful trip in 1913 & a storekeeper. His family lived in Wylre, Limburgse,
Holland. He was, I read, one of the very last
to leave the Volturno, & left at about the same time as Captain Inch,
who carried the ship's documents
& the dog. We must not forget the doggie! (The New York Times had an article
about the doggie at the time. That article probably can now be accessed on page
9. See link for 'Jack' the ship's dog, (and also) near the
top of the page!)
Now re most matters re the
Volturno, when you try
to confirm data, one has difficulty. Captain Inch surely was taken aboard the
Kroonland, & was manifest
listed
when the Kroonland arrived in New York. You would therefore expect the
manifests for that vessel to list K. Funken or Funben. But his name does not seem to appear on the
Kroonland Ellis Island
manifest data which did seem (but does no longer) to be one vessel where the survivor numbers agreed exactly. Nor does the name
appear on Jan Daamen's site where he reports upon articles in the Rotterdam papers of the period. And they, logically,
would have had an
especial
interest in citizens of Dutch origin. So we have an unexplained little mystery. Where
did K. Funken's or Funben's name get listed
in the Kroonland Ellis Island manifest lists. I have no answer to that question yet. But
I suspect that he was saved, in fact, not by the Kroonland but
rather by another rescue vessel. A 'J. Funken',
job unknown, does appear in Jan Daamen's Volturno crew list available on
this
page. Indicating he was saved but by an unknown vessel. But now we have
the answer! He was rescued by the Grosser Kurfürst, in fact,
as you can see on page 36.
It would seem that Jan Saulesley was
aboard one of the Czar lifeboats which rescued so many of the survivors -
102 of them, in fact. Here are
Jan's words
spoken in Rotterdam. As reported in the Funken or Funben account. The text I have names
him as being Johan Saulesly.
The people saw new hope when they saw us approaching
the "Volturno" in the morning with lifeboats. Our first lifeboat was speeding along side the "Volturno". Women threw
their children overboard, men jumped over the railing and we were able to save most. In a half hour we were back at
our own ship with the first of the survivors. We went back to the "Volturno" for a second time. We almost capsized, but we
finally made it along with lifeboats from two other ships. By now there was much shoving and pushing on the deck of the
"Volturno". We rescued only four women. The rest of the people we saved were men. The "Czar" had now drifted away from
the "Volturno" and we had to row more than an hour to deliver our second load of passengers. The third time we went out
we were all deadtired, but the people on the "Volturno" waving their handkerchiefs, gave us the strength to fight the
waves of the ocean. This time we took twenty women and children. The people were still being lowered by rope, but it was
going faster than before. We were completely put out, but were thankful that we were able to save so many people.
Thanks to Tony Jones of the U.K., we can read other words about the very same subject, as reported in the
Times of London on Oct. 14, 1913. We thank you Tony! The detail reads a
little bit differently. According to the words that follow, the 2nd officer/mate Saulesley or Saulesly, made a single trip in command of the lifeboat. And 3rd
officer/mate Janowsky made a total of three such trips. And 1st officer/mate
Zemtur made the very first trip. All very brave men surely. I have no axe to
grind! I am just reporting
what I read!
GALLANT RUSSIAN
SEAMEN.
---------------------
THE WORK OF THE CZAR’S LIFEBOAT.
(FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT)
AMSTERDAM, Oct.14
Captain Smiltneck, of the
Czar, belonging to the Russian East Asiatic Company, which has 102 survivors of
the Volturno on board, has wired his agents at Rotterdam, Ruys and Co., a
report of the disaster.
He states that about noon
on Thursday last he received a wireless communication that the Volturno was on
fire and that the Carmania had arrived on the scene. His own vessel was about 150 miles away, with
a north-westerly gale blowing, but he immediately steered his ship straight for the spot indicated,
which was reached about midnight. He
placed his vessel on the windward side of the Volturno, and at 1 o’clock
lowered a boat under the command of the chief officer, which, after approaching
the burning vessel, returned almost immediately with 15 persons. After these were brought on board, the boat
returned under the command of the third officer, who made three trips with
fresh men each time. When the sea calmed
down the work of rescue proceeded rapidly, and the Czar’s lifeboat made a fifth
journey with the second officer, and the remaining persons on board the
Volturno were taken off with the exception of the master and six officers. The work was completed at 8 o’clock and then
all the vessels steamed round searching for the missing lifeboats.
It is clear from this very
sober report that the crew of the Czar who went in the lifeboat five times are
indeed brave men. Besides, this steamer
has the greatest number of survivors on board. The captain also wires the names of the ‘tweendeck passengers rescued by
the Czar, and to judge from the names most of them are Russians or Poles. The administrator of the Volturno, Mr. W. L.
Brown, the surgeon, and three members of the ship’s company are also on board.
VOLTURNO SURVIVORS RESCUED BY THE CZAR
I think that we are making some progress in figuring out the names of those persons,
both passengers &
crew members of the Volturno who were rescued by the Czar. I invite you to visit page
19, if you want to check the
data out. There is however
considerable 'educated guesswork' in that list until new data that confirms or denies its
accuracy becomes available.
The first three persons
listed on that page were surely rescued by the Czar. They are
the family of Arnold Graboyes, of California, whose family records
have long indicated
that the Czar was the vessel that rescued them & the
Campanello was the vessel that brought them back to the U.S. The rest? The
Czar landed at Rotterdam & only the Campanello,
would seem to have carried Volturno survivors ex Rotterdam to
North America. And why did the survivors not return on the Czar itself? I would
appear that there
would have been a long wait for the
Czar to again travel to North America. Its next arrival in New York would
seem to
have been on Nov. 11, 1913, & the Campanello was available
& leaving from Rotterdam for New York much sooner.
And the Campanello was also a Uranium Steamship vessel & a
sister ship to the Volturno. Hence my 'educated guesswork'.
SOURCE OF THE CZAR VESSEL DATA ON THIS PAGE
Ted Finch, in his message linked above, states that the source for his data on the vessel
was N. R. P. Bonsor's
"North Atlantic Seaway", Volume 3 page 1356 & Volume 4, pages 1511/12. And also the same author's "South Atlantic Seaway"
on page
465. I am always so very glad to find source data such as Ted Finch has kindly provided. And he even provided a couple of
possible sources
for an image, though re one of those sources the link is today no longer operative.
OTHER CZAR & CZAR CREW POSTCARDS/IMAGES
Postcard images of
Czar seem to be most rare. For many years, I showed you
above, a postcard of the H.M.T. Czar i.e. the vessel as a troopship
- from a postcard
said to date from c. 1920s. The card was
sold
on eBay in early
Mar. 2006, for GBP 3.43 or approximately U.S. $5.99 & was stated to be of British manufacture.
The eBay postcard just above referred to, specifically
identified the name of the vessel, so the image must date from prior to Jan. 1921 when she became the Estonia.
But on further 'digging' the postcard image is available here (left
column, about 55% down), where a print can be purchased, and where it says 'Known journey : Left Constantinople April 10th 1920, arrived Southampton
April 20th 1920, possibly returning troops.'
For many years I knew nothing more
about that postcard. But now, in Jun. 2007, thanks to Andrew
Lennon of Plymouth, U.K., we know a little more. Andrew acquired 3 Russian postcards
and two at least of them relate to the 'North Russia Expeditionary Force', (a subject
beyond the scope of this page) with images of
soldiers with horse drawn sleds. There are notations in identical handwriting on
the backs of all three postcards with references to 1919. The third card is, of
course, of the Czar & on its rear are the words 'Troop Transport returned
to England July 1919'. The card was sold for GBP 5.20 or approximately U.S.
$10.26 on eBay. And a fine scan of the card, kindly provided by Andrew Lennon, now appears above
in place of the earlier image. So it would seem that
Czar was used as a troopship at the end of WWI and/or in the
events that followed WW1, presumably bringing troops
back from northern Russia. And maybe also later on a similar errand from Turkey.
The card was published by C. W. Hunt
& Co. of Liverpool. The vessel was, I think, managed by Cunard during WW1 & when or
after being laid
up in 1919 was owned by 'Russian East Asiatic Steamship Co. Ltd.' of Petrograd (as St. Petersburg,
Russia, was named 1914-1924).
And above is the vessel at a date in the 1930s, then named T.S.S.
Pulaski. From an eBay
item
in Jun. 2006, that sold for U.S. $31.00. The card was published it would seem by the Gdynia-America
Line since its crest was on the address side of the card along with the cities around the world where the company had offices.
As this page was updated in Apl. 2012, a Czar crew image, together with two images of the ship was available via eBay.
The crew image is not dated & likely was not taken at the time of the Volturno rescue. It
is a fine image, however so I make it available below (& slightly larger here).
The Czar images are here & here, as they were listed.
CANADIAN IMMIGRATION CARDS (ESTONIA 1927 & 1929)
A Canadian immigration card kindly
provided by Carol Blackman of Toronto, Canada. Re Carol's grandfather, Israel Cott, who left Danzig, Poland, on Dec. 5, 1927
on Estonia, was landed at
Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Dec. 16, 1927, & chose to settle in Toronto, Ontario.
And another Canadian immigration card kindly provided by
Tania Cadeau of Perth, Ontario. Her grandparents arrived with Tania's mother,
Evgenja, then a very small child of just 10 months, aboard Estonia at Halifax, Nova Scotia, on
Sep. 8, 1929. They had taken passage from Danzig, Poland, but were originally from Volyn,
Poland, with Grande Prairie, Alberta, as their destination. Just one passport, I am
advised, with Filemon & Tatjana Olejchuk (became Olychuk), & daughter Evgenja, all
recorded on the same travel document. What I show is one of the three
immigration cards, the card for Tatjana Olejchuk, Tania's grandmother. Tania, we
thank you!
And a ticket (or maybe a baggage receipt) re a voyage of
Pulaski from Gdynia to Buenos Aires. Dating from late 1937 or early
1938. Image thanks to 'Adrian', of Buenos Aires.
A fine image of passengers aboard
Pulaski. Available via e-Bay in mid Feb. 2015 as this page is updated - here.
The webmaster has tidied up the image but not rotated it lest image detail be lost. 
AN EARLIER VESSEL NAMED THE 'CZAR'
Now there was an
earlier Czar, & just maybe there were, in fact, many
many earlier Czars. I know that what I now present, at right, is not related to 'our' Czar but here is an image of
an earlier vessel of that name.
The image is from (after a bit of adjustment!) a 1901 postcard image on eBay with printed
& hand written text
which I believe was in Russian. |
 |
This page will, hopefully, track data about the
Czar as it comes to hand. And hopefully data as it specifically relates to the
Volturno tragedy.
If any visitor can provide more information about the
Czar,
I would truly welcome
their help.
TO END THE PAGE
The following in no way relates to the above content of this
page. It is here for your pleasure & interest alone. To feature a most
extraordinary gun, on display at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia.
Named the 'Tsar Cannon', the gun was built
over 425 years ago, back in 1586, in bronze, by Russian master bronze caster Andrey Chokhov. It was, in fact, never used in battle.
But what a magnificent gun! You can read extensive detail about it
here & at many other web sites, I am sure.
The postcard,
which dates from 1906, was offered for sale on 'Delcampe' as this page was updated
on Jan. 8, 2012. By
vendor 'Wattrelosien59'.
The Delcampe item is here, where you may today view the even bigger listing image,
but can no longer bid on it.
The second image is ex 'Wikipedia Commons', here,
where the fine image is available in many sizes.
May I suggest that you navigate the
site via the
index on page 01.
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