From: Robin W
Sent: Thursday, December 8, 2016 8:42 PM
To: Mark Rybak
Subject: Re: Bill and Fenja Kaulback
What a fascinating - very moving and then quite comical - narrative. But let me see if I've got the chronology and names right for Fenja:
She was born in Riga in 1912, nowadays Latvia; was the family visiting from St Petersburg (where Bill says they were living at that time)?
The family flee to Tartu, Estonia, in 1917
In Estonia, she is officially known by surname Beltsikov plus (Yiddish) forenames Hasja Feiga (both also official as well)
In Estonia, she marries and becomes officially known by new surname Arbit plus same Yiddish forenames In Uzhbekistan, her surname and forenames are unchanged
In Palestine, her surname is unchanged but her forenames become Fenja Katherina (as recorded in the 1947 newspaper)
In Haifa, Palestine (pre-1948), she meets Bill Kaulback in a barber's shop (an officer of His Majesty wouldn't cut much ice after Israel's independence!) In Israel, after the events of 1948, she is still Fenja Katherina Arbit
In Lebanon, in 1949 (as recorded in OrnaVerum) she re-marries and becomes Fenja Katherina Julianovna Kaulback - where does Julianovna come from?
Subsequently her firstborn son is adopted by Bill, and thereby takes Bill's surname, as you know from the announcement in the London Gazette.
However, I would ask you please not to contact him (at least, not yet) - he's a very emotional and (I think) difficult person - he strongly dislikes the O/V website and indeed he insisted I remove all mention of him - which is why he is known as "Offline" in the Kaulback Generation Table. In this era we must all become accustomed to being "public property", I believe, and it's much healthier than secrecy. All such secrets will become public knowledge at the Day of Judgement anyway, or so I believe.
Though the Royal Navy officers used to drink a toast on social occasions, "To our wives and sweethearts - May they never meet!"
With best wishes,
Robin.