Famous Russian Exile

Manawatu Times, Volume 65, Issue 1, 2 January 1940, Page 5

Famous Russian Exile

Kerensky Weds Australian Girl

J£Y her marriage to Alexander Feodrovich Kerensky, famous figure of the Russian Revolution, a pretty Australian girl, Nelle Tritton, has made the headlines of newspapers all over the world. An attractive brunette with brown eyes and a trim figure, she has become the wife of a man whose name will have a prominent place in history books for all time. To-day Kerensky is an exile, with no say in the vital decisions which have brought his country into the position of deciding, perhaps, the fate of civilisation. Twenty-two years ago he was Prime Minister of Russia, as well as Command-er-in-Chief and War Minister, during three historic months following the Revolution. A strong, fascinating character linked with rare intelligence and good looks have played a big part in shaping Nelle Tritton’s life since she left Australia 12 years ago. When she arrived in Europe her charm and talents found her a wide circle of friends and she soon came to know some of the most famous people of England and the Continent. Many people in Brisbane, her home town, and in Sydney, where she worked as a journalist, remember Nelle Trittcn as a glamorous, smartly-dressed personality with a rare wit and an amazing knowledge of world affairs. It would not have occurred to any one of them, however, that this bright young Australian would one day be a leading light in the cosmopolitan life of London, Paris and New York, or that her marriage would make big ne vs even in the midst of a great world crisis. It is amazing to think that, at the time when her husband, Kerensky, was helping to make history in the dark days of the Revolution in Russia, Nelle Tritton was just a pretty 16-year-old schoolgirl in Brisbane. Kerensky, to her, then was merely a figure to be studied in the complicated Russian scene, which was at that time overshadowed by the closing stages of the war. Her schoolmistress praised her for the interest she took in foreign affairs. Later, as a smiling, happy debutante, Nelle Tritton danced with the Duke of Windsor when, as Prince of Wales, he visited Queensland. But the excitements of debutante days were not enough for her. Although the daughter of a prosperous Brisbane furniture store owner she wanted a career. She decided to be a journalist and while in her twenties she published a book of poems. After wording as a journalist in Sydney she left for Europe. Fate and the artistic circles in which she moved led to romance when she met a Russian singer and violinist named Nadejine. Attracted by their mutual love of music, they became firm friends, and friendship led to marriage. With Nadejine Nelle Tritton revisited Australia some years ago, but in 1936 she divorced him. It was then that she became secretary to Kerensky, who was living in exile in Paris. At an early age she had shown a remarkable gift for learning languages. The fact that she could speak several languages. including Russian, quite fuently, was of very great Value to her in her secretarial work.

Early this year Nelle Tritton again visited her homeland. “When Nelle arrived in Brisbane to visit us last February,” said her mother, “she wore tw r o magnificent rings given her by Kerensky. “She had met him in France some years ago. Having retained her interest in international politics she enjoyed long discussions with him. “She told us that she liked him because he was a highly intelligent man of the world. We knew that their mutual interests might develop into romance.” “I always looked on Nelle as one of the most interesting pupils I ever had,” said Miss Harker, former principal of Somerville House. “I recall how she used to mount a stump in the playground every lunch hour, and ask the girls to give her a subject for a three-minute speech.

“She always found something interesting to say, too. “She never forgets her old friends, and on her visits to Brisbane since she went abroad the has made he: old school one of her first calls.” Nelle Tritton and Ke ensky met again in America a few weeks ago, Nelle having arrived from Australia, and Kerensky from France, where he had secured his divorce from his first wife. They were married quietly in a tiny village in Pennsylvania, by a local estate agent who was also a Justice of the Peace. “I was amazed when I realised who Kerensky was,” he said. “I would not believe it until I saw his passport and divorce papers. “Both of them seemed very happy. They exchanged rings and mostly talked in Russian.” They left soon after on a motoring honeymoon, bound for New York to stay with a Republican leader, Mr. Kenneth Simpson. At the end of September they intend to sail for France. They will make their home in Paris, where Kerensky has lived throughout his years of exile.