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Lt.-Col. Vladimir Peniakoff DSO MC
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL VLADIMIR PENIAKOFF DSO MC (1897-1951), nicknamed Popski, was the founder and commanding officer of Popski’s Private Army. Born in Belgium to Russian Jewish intellectual parents, ...view moreLIEUTENANT-COLONEL VLADIMIR PENIAKOFF DSO MC (1897-1951), nicknamed Popski, was the founder and commanding officer of Popski’s Private Army. Born in Belgium to Russian Jewish intellectual parents, he began his studies in 1914 at St John’s College in Cambridge. Initially opting to join the French artillery as a private to avoid the lengthy British Army training, Peniakoff emigrated to Egypt in 1924 (following invalidation from the French army after the armistice due to an injury), where he worked as an Engineer for a sugar manufacturer. During this time he learned to sail, fly and navigate vehicles through the desert, becoming a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
He was commissioned as a second lieutenant on the British Army General List on 4 October 1940, serving in the Libyan Arab Force. He was awarded the Military Cross on 26 November 1942, and on 26 April 1945 he was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). In 1947 Popski was made a Belgian Officier de l’Ordre de la Couronne avec Palme and awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 avec Palme.
Vladimir Peniakoff was a polyglot who spoke English, Russian, Italian, German, French and Arabic well.view less