PETROV, Eugene
Lieutenant, Eugene PETROV
Aged 22
Russian Artillery
Died on Wednesday 24th September, 1919
The script on the front of his monument is cryllic, but an English translation can be found on the rear. Nothing else is known of this officer
When the war ended there were many Russians in prisoner of war camps in Germany. Around 1500 of the officers were brought the U.K. It seems most likely that
the 12th and 13th Officer Cadet Battalion camp situated somewhere in the Brickfields region of Newmarket was no longer needed for that purpose, and that
the Russians were billeted there. At one time there were over 500 in the camp, undergoing training. There is a film clip on the internet showing them on
Newmarket Heath practising releasing gas. These officers were then shipped back to Russia to strengthen the White Russian army against the Bolsheviks.
This little known episode provoked a heated exchange in Parliament in 1919 between Winston Churchill, the Secretary of State for War and some MP's. There was
even trouble in the camp and 10 or so Russians were arrested for "Bolshevik activities"
The late Rodney Vincent, then webmaster for the Newmarket Local History Society had correspondence with a Russian lady whose ancestor had been one of these officers.
More on the subject can be found on www.newmarketlhs.org.uk and the exchange in the Commons between Churchill and Benn can of course be found via Hansard.
To date no plans of this camp have been found and the whole affair seems to be unknown to most people, even those in Exning and Newmarket. Getty images do have
these three pictures. The gas exercise seemingly causing a stir on the heath at the time
