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Lieutenant-Colonel Vladimir Peniakoff DSO
Distinguished Service Order

The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other Commonwealth of Nations countries, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat....
 MC
Military Cross

The Military Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth of Nations countries....
 (30 March 1897–15 May 1951), nicknamed
List of military figures by nickname

This is a list of military figures by nickname....
 "Popski", was the founder and commanding officer of "Popski's Private Army
Popski's Private Army

Popski's Private Army was an Irregular military of United Kingdom Special Forces founded in Cairo in 1942 by Major Vladimir Peniakoff Distinguished Service Order Military Cross....
".

Early life
Vladimir Peniakoff was born in Belgium
Belgium

* A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
 to Russian
Russians

The Russian people are an East Slavs ethnic group, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries.The English language term Russians is used to refer to the citizens of Russia, regardless of their ethnicity ; in Russian language, the demonym Russian is translated as Rossiyanin ....
 parents. In 1914 he studied at Cambridge University and describes his early education in Popski's Private Army: "For years I never had less than three tutors who pumped knowledge into my precocious brain".






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Lieutenant-Colonel Vladimir Peniakoff DSO
Distinguished Service Order

The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other Commonwealth of Nations countries, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat....
 MC
Military Cross

The Military Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth of Nations countries....
 (30 March 1897–15 May 1951), nicknamed
List of military figures by nickname

This is a list of military figures by nickname....
 "Popski", was the founder and commanding officer of "Popski's Private Army
Popski's Private Army

Popski's Private Army was an Irregular military of United Kingdom Special Forces founded in Cairo in 1942 by Major Vladimir Peniakoff Distinguished Service Order Military Cross....
".

Early life


Vladimir Peniakoff was born in Belgium
Belgium

* A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
 to Russian
Russians

The Russian people are an East Slavs ethnic group, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries.The English language term Russians is used to refer to the citizens of Russia, regardless of their ethnicity ; in Russian language, the demonym Russian is translated as Rossiyanin ....
 parents. In 1914 he studied at Cambridge University and describes his early education in Popski's Private Army: "For years I never had less than three tutors who pumped knowledge into my precocious brain". Vladimir initially had conscientious objections to the Great War but by his fourth term at Cambridge he had changed his mind. Unlike many of his peers, he opted to join the French artillery
Artillery

Artillery is a military Combat Arms which employs any apparatus, machine, an assortment of tools or instruments, a system or systems used as weapons for the discharge of large projectiles in combat as a major contribution of fire power within the overall military capability of an armed force....
 as a private
Private (rank)

A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank . The term dates from the Middle Ages, where privates were known as "private soldiers" who were either hired, conscripted, or feudalism into service by a nobleman forming an army....
 rather than go through the lengthy training that a commission in the British Army
British Army

The British Army is the Army branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707....
 entailed. He was injured during his time in the French Army and was invalided out after the armistice.

In 1924 he emigrated to Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
 where he worked as an Engineer for a sugar manufacturer. Here he married Yvonne ten Bergen and had two daughters, Olga and Anne, born in 1930 and 1932. During this time he learned to sail, fly and navigate vehicles through the desert, becoming a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Vladimir Peniakoff was a polyglot who spoke English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
, Russian
Russian language

Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe....
, Italian
Italian language

Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
, German
German language

German is a West Germanic languages, thus related to and classified alongside English language and Dutch language. It is one of the world's world language and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union....
, French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 and Arabic well.

He was commissioned as a second lieutenant
Second Lieutenant

Second Lieutenant is the lowest Officer military rank in many armed forces.In British English the rank is pronounced second /l?f't?n?nt/ , while in American English it is pronounced second /lu't?n?nt/ ....
 on the British Army
British Army

The British Army is the Army branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707....
 General List on 4 October 1940, serving in the Libyan Arab Force. He divorced Yvonne and sent the family to South Africa
South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
. He was awarded the Military Cross
Military Cross

The Military Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth of Nations countries....
 on 26 November 1942, and on 26 April 1945 he was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order

The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other Commonwealth of Nations countries, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat....
 (DSO). In 1947 Popski was made a Belgian Officier de l'Ordre de la Couronne avec Palme
Order of the Crown (Belgium)

The Order of the Crown is an Order of Belgium which was first created on 15 October 1897. The Order of the Crown was created under the authority of Leopold II of Belgium and was originally intended to recognize heroic deeds and distinguished service achieved from service in the Congo Free State - many of which acts soon became highly controv...
 and awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerre

The croix de guerre is a military decoration of both France and Belgium, where it is also known as the Oorlogskruis . It was first created in 1915 in both countries and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins....
 1940 avec Palme. He married Pamela Firth on 2 April 1948 (she went on to marry Tom Matthews, former Managing Director of Time
Time (magazine)

Time is a weekly United States newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report. A European edition is published from London....
 magazine, after Popski's death).

Death

Shortly after his best-selling book on Popski's Private Army was published he was diagnosed with a fatal brain tumour and died on 15 May 1951. Pamela Matthews died on 5 December 2005 and is buried beside Popski in Wixoe
Wixoe

Wixoe is a village and civil parish in the St Edmundsbury district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located on the northern bank of the River Stour, Suffolk, two miles south-east of Haverhill, in 2005 its population was 140....
, Suffolk
Suffolk

Suffolk is a Non-metropolitan counties of England of Historic counties of England in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south....
.