Notes

Dr Gabriel de Wesselitsky Bojidarovitch1841— 1930

Lived 89 Years, Soldier, Diplomat, Author, Linguist, Journalist

Whilst I was a small boy I used to go to visit my Grandpapa with members of the family in his rooms in London during the last years of his life. This was one of my few memories of him.

I propose to set down a sketch in chronological order form to indicate an outline of his life.

1841 The only son of a notable Russian General, Gabriel was born at Tsarskoe Selo (Czar's Village) near Saint Petersburg, the capital city of the Russian Empire. As the son of a nobleman he was a page at the Imperial Court of the Tsar of all the Russias, and was educated at the School of Ensigns of the Guard at Saint Petersburg.

1860 Four years further studies followed at Heidelberg, Baden, at the University.

In due course he was awarded a Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

18568 ??? Gabriel was commissioned in the second battalion on the Rifles of the Guard as Lieutenant,and so began his career in the Russian Army. Documents relatived to his military career are held by the family.

1860 Whilst on detached military service he took part in a military campaign in Southern Italy under the leadership of Guiseppi Garibaldi, fighting for the unification of Italy.

1863 Gabriel visited London for the first time and was present at the opening of the District Railway (part of which is now London Underground Railway).

1864 Gabriel received training in public life as a Secretary of the Russian Foreign Office in Saint Petersburgduringthe introduction to his diplomatic career.

He wrote and presented a "Diplomatic Historyof Russia"for the heir to the Throne (later to become Tsar Alexander III).

18656 ??? Gabriel was attached to the Russian Embassy in Paris.He took part in diplomatic talks with Emperor Napoleon III.

1866 Gabriel presented to Tsar Alexander II a memoir urging an understanding with Great Britain and France to limit the ambitions of Prussia

Gabriel travelled and studied in the Near East as a diplomat, and it was in 1867 during this time his career as a journalist began.

1869 Laterat Biarritz, a fashionable French resort, he was introduced by NapoleonI11 to Otto von Bismarck, Minister President (later Prince) of Prussia;and after 1871, Chancellor of the German Empire.

1870 In Geneva, Switzerland, on 26thOctober,his marriage took place,to Julia Munroe, daughter of SenatorJames Munroeof New York State in the United States of America. Gabriel and Julia had met during travels made by Julia and her mother and visits to Saint Petersburg we have documents and reports of the wedding in newspaper articles.

1871 Gabriel and Julia in due course went to live in Dresden,Saxony where their first child, Vara - or Varvara- (Barbara in English)was born in 1871.

1872 A second daughter,Vera, was born to Julia in Dresden.

1875-6 Gabriel travelled to the land of origin of his family and aided the Bosnians and Hercegovians in the war against the Turks for liberation of the land. He was a military commander under Prince Nicholas of Montenegro (later to become King Nicholas I).

1876 Gabriel was charged by Tsar AlexanderII with the task of pacification of Bosnia-Hercegovina.

1877 He re-entered the Russian Army and volunteered for service in the war against the Turks (the Ottoman Empire) and served before Plevna,which was under seige,in the Balkans. Plevnais now in East Bulgaria.

Gabriel represented the Christian leaders of Bosnia-Hercegovina, at their

Request, at the Congress of Berlin. (Documents held by the family).

1878 Gabriel visited Rome and had a series of diplomatic talks with Cardinal Pecci, shortly afterwards to become Pope Leo XIII.

1879 Gabriel was taken ill with typhoid fever and was invalided out of the Russian Army.

1878-85 Gabriel was seconded by the Russian Imperial Government as Advisor to the Austro-Hungarian Government in respect of Bosnia-Hercegovina.

1882 All this time the family had been living in Dresden. On the 31st August a son, Sergei,was born there to Julia.

Gabriel was appointed journalist - correspondent of the newspaper Novoe Vremya (New Times) of Saint Petersburg.This appointment was to continue for many years.

1885-92 Gabriel took up a diplomatic appointment for the Russian Government in Berlin,Prussia. He engaged in talks with Prince von Bismarck. Whilst continuing to work for a Franco-Russian Alliance, Gabriel continued to press for Anglo—-Russian understanding, and he took part in diplomatic talks in London with the Prince of Wales (later to become King Edward VII).

He visited Russia and Saint Petersburg its capital at intervals during this

time, and on at least three occasions attempts were made on his life. The assassination attempts were known to have been made at the instigation of the Tsar (Alexander III) and were considered to have been because of the independent minded views of Gabriel in the course of his duties, and his increasingly democratic outlook.

1892 In this year Gabriel decided to live outside Russia. Prince von Bismarck had been dismissed as Chancellor of Germany in 1890 by

Kaiser William II, who then took power in 1892 on account of his policy, outlook,writings,and democratic views, Gabriel was expelled from the German Empire by personal order of Kaiser William II. The family then left Dresden, Saxony.

In the same year Gabriel,in spite of having a family house in Paris, came to live in London.He continued to live in London for the remaining 38 years of his life.

1892-92 Gabriel studied British Institutions and continued as correspondent for Novoe-Vremy a Newspaper of Saint Petersburg for many years.

1893 in that year Gabriel was presented at a Diplomatic Levee at the Court of St James and was received on behalf of Queen Victoria by the Prince of Wales (later to become King Edward VII).

1896 Gabriel was a founding member of the Forelgn Press Association of London. He was elected President for fourteen years up to 1911, when he gave up this office.

1897-99 Gabriel continued his work fighting against the German Railway being constructed to Bagdad (Iraq).

1901 He worked continually for Anglo-Russian understanding.

1902 Gabriel was invited to attend the Coronation of King Edward VII in Westminster Abbey, London. His personal friendship with the King continued for many years.When Gabriel was very ill in 1907, King Edward troubled to visit him in his rooms in Cromwell Road, London.

1906 He was invited to a series of talks with the Prime Minister,

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman on Balkan and Eastern European affairs.

1907-8 Prolonged illness in London. His last public visits to Russia Petrograd in 1910 and in 1912 to lecture on his main subjects. 1912-13 Gabriel was adviser to the British Government duringthe Balkan Wars of these years against the Turks.

1914-18 On account of his considerable linguistic ability and wide Experience he was asked to serve with the British Foreign Office as Censor.

1916 He wrote his most important book,"Russia and Democracy".

Government and widely circulated, particularly in the United States and in Russia,and was considered to have had an important Propaganda effect in the U.S.A in particular.

Published by the British Government sponsored books and delivered a series of public lectures in London on European Affairs

1914-18 Gabriel wrote other with the British Foreign Officer as adviser on Balkans

1918-30 He was given a post of Eastern European Affairs. This appointment continued until the time of his death in 1930

1919 Gabriel was invited to attend, with the British delegation, the Peace Conference at the conclusion of the Great War at Versailles in the Hall of Mirrors, as adviser on Balkan Affairs.

He constantly worked for the relief of war refugees, in Bosnia-Hercegovina included in Yugoslavia), raising funds to supply stores, food and housing. He had advocated this idea over the preceding thirty years.

In 1928 About this year in secret, Gabriel's second marriage took place to his nurse, Miss Olive Lyall, in London. His first wife, Julia,had died in Switzerland in 1923

He was buried at Brompton Cemetery, London, Gabriel died during a stay at Bournemouth.

1930 Gabriel was always a Russian subject and travelled widely in Russia, all over Europe and the Middle East; also in the Eastern United States.

As an officer in the Russian Army he served in a number of different military campaigns also in Italy and the Balkans.

Gabriel always wore the White Cross and Double Eagle Decoration of Serbia as representing that country. As ambassador for Serbia he represented that country at the Ottoman Porte (Turkish Empire) in Constantinople (now Istanbul).

Documents held by the family.

As an hereditary Russian Nobleman of Balkan origin he championed the cause of liberation of the Balkans from the Turks and also from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

During the war of 1876-1876 he served as an officer in the Army of Prince Nicholas(Later King Nicholas I) of Montenegro against the Turks.

Gabriel was a man of strong character and he must also have had strong nerves. He was a man of short stature and had broad shoulders and piercing blue eyes. He was respected on account of his commanding presence and was a notable speaker. His favourite language after Russian was French. He also wrote novels in French and they were serialised in a French newspaper.

He did this in his old age to raise money as all his estates and properties etc had been in Russia and Germany were now lost to him

Gabriel was a gifted linguist and had a written and spoken ability in ten languages.

He also had a working knowledge of about a further fifteen languages (total of 26 languages).

During the Great War and following the Revolution of 1917 all the family possessions in Russia were lost.

The family still have two crested seals of his family. He enjoyed playing chess and used a small travelling set.

Around1870 Gabriel opened a news agency in Berlin and travelled widely in Europe on a regular basis by railway on the excellent new railway system to write reports of a political nature from the capital cities principally. He was in personal contact with many of the leading figures of his time.

He made a regular tour of Europe:

Berlin – Paris – Holland – Denmark – Latvia – Lithuania - Poland – Saint – Belgium - Moscow Kieff – Istambul – Greece – Spain - St Petersburg - Italy etc.

Order sand Decorations awarded to Gabriel were from the following countries:

Russia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, the Vatican, Serbia and Prussia.

He also received a long service award in 1901 of the Novoe Vremya (New Times) newspaper of Saint Petersburg for journalistic services:Twenty five years service.

One of his friends was John Buchan the well know Scottish author( later Viscount Tweeds muir and Governor General of Canada during the 1930s). Gabriel discussed with him his experiences in the Middle East. Later in 1916 John Buchan had Published one of his first books, "Greenmantle",largely based upon this knowledge.

The last part of the book, finishing in Turkey and South Russia was based on personal knowledge of secret agents and his own travels.

Gabriel much admired Bismarck, Chancellor of Prussia and Germany for forty years up to 1890, for his diplomatic skill. He also admired Cardinal Pecci, later to become Pope Leo XIII.

Note by Doctor Gabriel Merriman

Gabriel had several close encounters with the Turks.On one occasion he was in charge of a platoon of soldiers on a clifftop when he met a platoon of Turks with an officer in charge. The officer in charge called out to grand-papa and challenged him to a duel between the officers— to avoid the unnecessary bloodshed of a general fight.

They started with swords but they soon broke or lost their swords and were reduced to all-inwrestling. As they wrestled they gradually rolled over and over towards the cliff top edge. There is no need to say which man fell over the cliff edge. Grand-papa lived to tell the tale!

On another occasion,Gabriel and a brother officer in the Russian Army heard of a Greek girl who had been captured by the Turks and imprisoned in a harem on a Greek Island. They planned to rescue her. The two officers put off in a dinghy near the island. They climbed over a high wall and after much searching found the harem and the Greek girl. They managed to climb back over the wall with the girl and told her to run for the boat. The two officers stayed back to fight off the four Turkish soldiers who were pursuing them. Gabriel's brother officer died in the fighting. Gabriel fought off the remaining Turks and then ran to join the girl in the boat. They rowed and rowed all through the night, then slept exhausted. After two days they were picked up by a steamer.

Twenty-five years later Gabriel received a letter from the girl. It had taken

her all that time to find out his address. She was happily married with children and was eternally grateful.

During the years 1910 to 1915 in particular Gabriel regularly entertained many guests at his parties in London. These always included many diplomats. On these occasions in particular,he was assisted by his son, Sergei. Whilst carrying out diplomatic work in Ragusa (now Dubrovnik) in 1876 he was personally insulted by another diplomat. Without more ado Gabriel challenged him to a duel. At that time the use of pistols was usual. Gabriel received a letter of apology, honour was satisfied and the matter was closed.

Many years ago, Gabriel received a letter from the then Italian Minister to Greece, Count Bosdari, beginning with the words"My dear cousin...".It seems that the Count's branch of the family had migrated across the Adriatic Sea to Italy in the 10th or 11th century from Serbia. An interesting correspondence followed .The original name of the family was Bodarior Bojidarovitch; but Italianised to Bosdari in this instance.

During the course of Gabriel's diplomatic work in Turkey in 1877 he visited Constantinople (known now as Istanbul) and had audiences with the Grand Vizier (Chief Officer of the Ottoman Empire).It must have been a visit of special interest as Gabriel's great—grandfather had also been a diplomat and had also visited Constantinople in the course of his duties. Gabriel's grandfather had been born in Constantinople during a family visit.

Next

Close