A Visit to the Library

I paid a brief visit to the library at the National Military Museum this morning.  They didn't have any printed resources in reference to the 1917 Anglo-Russian Military Convention and the librarian didn't know very much of this obscure piece of military history.  She was able to suggest where records listing the deported immigrants would be kept, however.  Since it was likely the British government, not the Scottish government, that would have signed the Convention, she recommended checking at the National Archives in Kew, England (outside of London).  I plan to investigate a little.  If they have records that look promising, I'll eventually make a trip down there.

In the meantime, I found another forum with some interesting information.  It appears I'm not the only one seeking out a list of immigrants that were conscripted into the Russian military.  Others have also suggested that the documents may be held at Kew.  I made a post under the username "silvestris" asking if anybody has had luck there.

What is also interesting is that somebody in that forum mentioned records held in the Lithuanian Archives in Vilnius.  I have been assuming records in Lithuania would be almost non-existent given their tumultuous history, but maybe I should be more optimistic.  One person was apparently able to find a KGB file on his great-uncle, who was executed in 1941 when the Russians re-invaded!  This is something that would be just incredible to find about my great-uncle, Chute's brother, Kazimiras Jr.  He too was abducted by the Russians for being part of the Lithuanian military and, most likely, was also executed.  Chute told me that her mother (Zose) believed, until the day she died, that her son was just lost and would one day turn up.  Maybe finding records of his execution could give Chute some closure.  Then again, maybe the truth would be worse than hope.

On another note, I had a second look at the History Today article.  There's a section explaining that most of the conscripts sent to "Russia" were refused permission to return to Scotland after the downfall of the Empire, particularly if they weren't able to prove Allied allegiance.  This meant that those left behind in Scotland (eg. my great-grandmother and great-uncle, Zose and Kazimiras Jr) would become a "permanent financial liability" to Great Britain.  Instead of supporting those left without a "breadwinner", the government took action "to discontinue the Treasury allowances ...  The consequence was that a total of about 600 Lithuanian women and children returned to Russian soil by the end of March 1920".  Unbelievable!  The government deported legal immigrants, leaving dependent family members without income, and then withdrew financial assistance, so that they too were unable to remain.  There are few policies (except perhaps the recent ones in Arizona and Alabama) more hostile to immigrants than this!

This all fits with the family history though:  Kazimiras Jr was born on 26 May 1918, approximately 10 months after the Convention was signed and my great-grandfather would have found out he would have to go back to "Russia", and Chute was born in Lithuania in January 1921, just 10 months after financial support for dependents was terminated in Britain.  I'm starting to be convinced that my second theory is correct:  Kazimiras Sr was conscripted into the Russian military and Zose followed with Kazimiras Jr after Kazimiras Sr was refused re-entry.