Forum | PolishOrigins :: View topic

Author

Message

Becca25

Joined: 01 May 2025
Replies: 2
Location: Victoria, Australia
Back to top

Posted: Thu May 01, 2025 7:11 am Post subject: Leon Czech

My name is Rebecca and I am trying to locate some information about my Grandfather.

His name was Leon V (possibly Vladislav) Czech with his surname possibly being shortened from something. He was born in Barnaul, Siberia in 1918 (or around then) and what I do know he was possibly in Poland in 1939 after which he moved to England and fought under the Polish Army in the war. The only know document I have is his marriage to my Grandmother in 1950, nothing connecting the dots before this.

Any help is greatly appreciated

Sophia
PO Top Contributor

Joined: 05 Oct 2014
Replies: 1534

Back to top

Posted: Thu May 01, 2025 7:56 am Post subject: Re: Leon Czech

Becca25 wrote:

Hi Rebecca,

Welcome to the forum!

Czech is a perfectly proper Polish name, but to your point, there are also a large number of Polish surnames that begin with Czech... so you do need to find some records to clarify the family name. Just for context, there is a website that lists the number of people using surnames in current-day Poland (1990s, actually), and as you can see from my rather abbreviated list here, the spelling Czech is by far the most numerous:

Czech 15,305 people
Czechak 73
Czechanowski 173
Czechański 96
Czechlewski 65
Czecholiński 181
Czechorowski 216
Czechowicz 3062
Czechowski 8063
Czechura 383
Czechyra 244

You didn't mention where the marriage took place (England?) but if you have that record, it would be worthwhile to make note of Leon's parents' names. That will make it easier to determine if a birth record (when found) is really his. You gave his middle name as starting with V and possibly being Vladislav but in Polish there is no letter V. The letter W takes the sound of V, so possibly his name is Leon Władysław Czech.

Good luck in your search,
Sophia

Last edited by Sophia on Thu May 01, 2025 9:10 am; edited 1 time in total

Sophia
PO Top Contributor

Joined: 05 Oct 2014
Replies: 1534

Back to top

Posted: Thu May 01, 2025 8:57 am Post subject:

Hi again Rebecca,

A few thoughts to add to what I wrote above. I am looking at his surname as if his family was Polish, but you have said he was born in Siberia. It's a very long distance from Barnaul to Poland. Do you know for sure that is where he was born? Do you know his native language and his religion? Do you think it is possible he was born in Poland but later sent to Siberia?

I was going to point out that there was a "Leon Władysław Czech" born in 1916, in the parish of Cięcina, woj. Slaskie, according to Geneteka. His father's name was Karol, his mother's name was Barbara. However, this same Leon died in 1917. So it's not him.

You probably already have this,
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C12135573
which is the naturalization record from the UK National Archives for a Leon Czech who may be your Leon Czech. If you don't have it, you see from the link how to ask for a price quote for them to make the record available to you.

Sophia

Becca25

Joined: 01 May 2025
Replies: 2
Location: Victoria, Australia
Back to top

Posted: Thu May 01, 2025 4:01 pm Post subject:

Wow thank you!
It was Leon W Czech! According to a article staying their want to be Australian citizens the article states Barnaul Siberia as birth place.
I know he was Polish nationality on his documents and married in England. I checked his death certificate and it states his father as Edward Czech and mother Vera Vasili.
An article states he arrived in England from Poland in 1939.
I will have to keep searching the last name but thank you for your information and time!
Rebecca

Sophia
PO Top Contributor

Joined: 05 Oct 2014
Replies: 1534

Back to top

Posted: Fri May 02, 2025 9:45 am Post subject:

Hi Rebecca,

You may have already researched this, but since the topic is new to me I spent a little time this morning reading about Barnauł which seems to have been one of the places in Siberia to which Poles were sent during the first world war. Here is some info about it from wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportations_from_East_Prussia_during_World_War_I

This article says that the majority of these deportees returned to Poland between 1919-1921. If this included your Czech ancestors, it would mean that the place they came from was likely in the area of Poland that was at one time part of East Prussia. That narrows down, at least a little bit, where to look in Poland for your family in the period between their repatriation to Poland and the beginning of the second world war when your Leon went to England. That is the area up near the Baltic Sea, roughly between Gdansk and Suwalki if you look at a map today.

I do not know if there are repatriation files held by the Polish archives. You may want to talk to a professional genealogist about that. If I find any other interesting info, I will post it.

Best,
Sophia

Trish
PO Top Contributor

Joined: 23 Sep 2020
Replies: 550

Back to top

Posted: Fri May 02, 2025 10:27 am Post subject:

Hi Rebecca and Sophia,

Rebecca, did Leon marry Iris?

The England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005
Name Leon W Czech
Registration Date Apr 1950 [May 1950] [Jun 1950]
Registration Quarter Apr-May-Jun
Registration District Calder
Inferred County Yorkshire West Riding
Spouse Iris E Dubois
Volume Number 2b
Page number 456

I found this manifest.

The UK and Ireland, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960
Name Leon Czech
Gender Male
Departure Age 32
Birth Date abt 1918
Departure Date 14 Sep 1950
Departure Port England
Ship Name Stratheden
Shipping Line P and O
Destination Port Melbourne, Australia
Master S W S Dickson

Here is a manifest with Leon and Iris.

The Fremantle, Western Australia, Passenger Lists, 1897-1963
Name Lean Czech
Departure Place London, United Kingdom
Arrival Date 9 Oct 1950
Arrival Place Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia
Vessel Stratheden

Regards,
Trish

Leon & Iris Manifest.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

1.28 MB

Viewed:

0 Time(s)

Leon Czech 1950 Manifest.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

902.47 KB

Viewed:

0 Time(s)

Sophia
PO Top Contributor

Joined: 05 Oct 2014
Replies: 1534

Back to top

Posted: Fri May 02, 2025 12:29 pm Post subject:

Hi Trish,

Thanks for posting these. It means that the naturalisation certificate that I provided a link to, cannot be the right Leon Czech. That naturalisation was in 1959, but this Leon Czech already left for Australia in 1950. Sorry about that Rebecca. But it is interesting that there was more than one Leon Czech from Poland living in England so you'll have to keep that in mind when you find other British records in that name.

Sophia

PolishOrigins Forum