http://www.thompsonhistorical.org/Newsletters/2004_Fall.pdf
More about Andy Mamedoff from the Thompson Historical Society
Rumor had it in 2004 that they make make a movie about these guys some day.... :)
More about Andy Mamedoff from the Thompson Historical Society
Rumor had it in 2004 that they make make a movie about these guys some day.... :)
40 the Second World War
had been under way for nearly a year. Hitler’s Germany was triumphant. The US was neutral. It was a time, Winston Churchill later observed, when ‘the British people held the fort alone till those who hitherto had been half blind were half ready.’ Some Americans, however, did not remain neutral. The worst days of the Battle of Britain – from July 10 to September 15 – saw seven US pilots fighting side by side with England’s. They included ex-barnstormers, a farm-boy and a mil- lionaire playboy. ‘The Few’ is the never-before-told story of these Americans who fought to save Britain.”
So begins Alex Kershaw’s upcoming book about the seven pilots who volunteered to help Britain. One of the pilots was Thompson’s own, Andy Mamedoff. There is however so much more to the Mamedoff story that it reads as if it were a Hollywood script. Kershaw mentions that it may indeed become a movie someday.
On Rt. 21, where Kononia Sports is today (across from the golf course) in the 1920s and 1930s lived Marion, the wealthy daughter of mil- lionaire Norman B. Ream. Marion was married to “Count” Anastase Vonsiatsky, a White Russian who had fought the Communist Reds before 1920. According to researcher Charlie Seney, “Vonsiatsky’s sister was married to a Mr. Mamedoff. The Mamedoff’s moved into a house on Rt. 21 and opened a restaurant called the Russian Bear Tea House”.
Author Kershaw reports that Andy may have been Jewish and was the son of Natalie. He was born in August 12, 1912, not in Thompson, though he was in Thompson in his high school years. He may have lived with his parents in Lon- don for a time. One resident remembers that he played on the local Thompson football team. For- mer Thompson resident, David Cassells recalls that “everyone knew how Andy drove his car— WILDLY! As I remember, he drove a 4 door FORD, soft-top open sedan, red, sporty—chrome grill etc.. He didn’t stick to the roads—he often just drove off the road and thru the fields, particularly along the Lake Road and lake off Main Street in Webster, near the Cranston Print Works. Car had a spare-tire cover citing “the New FORD—Auger-Reynolds, Thompson, CT). He used to run around with the Sherry Brothers (Bernard, David, John), Mike Conlon, Wade Chubbuck, Paul & Louis Auger, Jerry O’Brien”. Charley Seney remembers that Mamedoff “came from money. Had good clothes, shoes, a nice, nice sporty car. He had a reputation as a playboy type, drove fast and risky.”
had been under way for nearly a year. Hitler’s Germany was triumphant. The US was neutral. It was a time, Winston Churchill later observed, when ‘the British people held the fort alone till those who hitherto had been half blind were half ready.’ Some Americans, however, did not remain neutral. The worst days of the Battle of Britain – from July 10 to September 15 – saw seven US pilots fighting side by side with England’s. They included ex-barnstormers, a farm-boy and a mil- lionaire playboy. ‘The Few’ is the never-before-told story of these Americans who fought to save Britain.”
So begins Alex Kershaw’s upcoming book about the seven pilots who volunteered to help Britain. One of the pilots was Thompson’s own, Andy Mamedoff. There is however so much more to the Mamedoff story that it reads as if it were a Hollywood script. Kershaw mentions that it may indeed become a movie someday.
On Rt. 21, where Kononia Sports is today (across from the golf course) in the 1920s and 1930s lived Marion, the wealthy daughter of mil- lionaire Norman B. Ream. Marion was married to “Count” Anastase Vonsiatsky, a White Russian who had fought the Communist Reds before 1920. According to researcher Charlie Seney, “Vonsiatsky’s sister was married to a Mr. Mamedoff. The Mamedoff’s moved into a house on Rt. 21 and opened a restaurant called the Russian Bear Tea House”.
Author Kershaw reports that Andy may have been Jewish and was the son of Natalie. He was born in August 12, 1912, not in Thompson, though he was in Thompson in his high school years. He may have lived with his parents in Lon- don for a time. One resident remembers that he played on the local Thompson football team. For- mer Thompson resident, David Cassells recalls that “everyone knew how Andy drove his car— WILDLY! As I remember, he drove a 4 door FORD, soft-top open sedan, red, sporty—chrome grill etc.. He didn’t stick to the roads—he often just drove off the road and thru the fields, particularly along the Lake Road and lake off Main Street in Webster, near the Cranston Print Works. Car had a spare-tire cover citing “the New FORD—Auger-Reynolds, Thompson, CT). He used to run around with the Sherry Brothers (Bernard, David, John), Mike Conlon, Wade Chubbuck, Paul & Louis Auger, Jerry O’Brien”. Charley Seney remembers that Mamedoff “came from money. Had good clothes, shoes, a nice, nice sporty car. He had a reputation as a playboy type, drove fast and risky.”
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