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Kliene Family Collection
OCH.KFC
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Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Kliene Family Collection
Creator:
Kliene Family
Identifier/Call Number: OCH.KFC
Extent:
2.02 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1878-2012
Abstract: The Kliene Family Collection includes
publications, research materials, photographs, and artifacts that reflect the Kliene
brothers' participation and interest in the Boy Scouts in Shanghai, the Shanghai Volunteer
Corps, and their own family history in China. Albert and Fernande Kliene, along with their
sons Albert (Bert), Denis, and Ronald, lived in Shanghai from 1922 to 1947. All three
brothers were active members of the British Boy Scouts Association, serving with the 9
th Western District Public School Group and the 7
th Rover Scout Crew.
Language of Material: English,
Chinese
The Kliene family consists of Albert Kliene, his wife Fernande, and their three sons Albert
(Bert), Denis and Ronald. Albert was a Danish citizen who had voluntarily fought for the
British during World War I, before settling in France with his wife Fernande and their first
son, Bert, who was born in 1920. The family moved to Shanghai in 1922, where Albert worked
for the Shanghai Municipal Council, and where Denis and Ronald were born soon after.
The Kliene boys all became very active in the British Boy Scouts Association, joining the
9th Group of the Shanghai Boy Scouts which was the official troop of their school, the
Western District Public School for Boys. Bert later helped to form a separate Rover Crew for
older Scouts, called the 7th Rovers, in 1938, where he eventually became Rover Scout Leader.
In 1945, Denis and Ronald were appointed Scoutmaster and Assistant Scoutmaster,
respectively, for the 9th Group.
Bert also served in the Shanghai Volunteer Corps, as a part of the Scottish company, from
1938 until 1941, when the occupying Japanese forces disbanded the Corps. During the Japanese
occupation of Shanghai, as Danish citizens the Klienes were not interned, but they were not
allowed to work either, and Albert lost his job at the Shanghai Municipal Council. The
family survived on rations and some aid from the Danish Consul.
After the war, the men of the family found work with the U.S. forces stationed in China.
They attempted to secure visas to the United States, but the Chinese quota for immigration
had a large waiting list. Most of the family managed to get visitors' visas to Great Britain
due to Albert's service in World War I, so they traveled to England in 1947. However, as
Bert was born in France, he was able to easily secure a visa to the United States and he
emigrated to San Francisco in February of 1948. After their visas in England expired, Denis
and Ronald were left stateless, as the Danish Consulate had terminated their citizenship.
Ronald chose to remain in England after marrying Joy Stallabrass, a British woman, and he
became a naturalized British subject in October of 1954. Denis, Albert and Fernande chose to
emigrate to the United States with Bert's assistance, arriving in California in 1953.
Bert Kliene became an officer at the Bank of America in their International Division and
was stationed in several parts of the world before retiring to Brentwood, California. He
married Ina Dell, and after her passing married Gloria May Curtis. He died on May 17, 2012.
Denis worked as a graphic designer for a number of companies before retiring to northern
California with his wife, Barbara. Ronald started a company in England focusing on plastics
technology.
The
Kliene Family Collection consists of publications written
by members of the Kliene family, research materials, photographs, and artifacts related to
aspects of life in Shanghai, including Boy Scout Groups and the Shanghai Volunteer Corps.
The collection is divided into three series:
Albert
A. Kliene Files (1878-2012),
Denis G. Kliene
Files
(1920-2002), and
Ronald I. Kliene Files
(1998).
Series I,
Albert A. Kliene Files,includes a Glengarry bonnet
belonging to a fellow member of the Scottish Company of the Shanghai Volunteer Corps and a
collection of Chinese postage stamps collected by Albert (Bert). Bert's own life is
documented in an article he wrote remembering a Scout Camp event and in a memorial letter
written by his brother Denis. These materials are arranged alphabetically.
Series II,
Denis G. Kliene Files,consists of research, writing,
and edited works by Denis that primarily relate to the history of Boy Scouting and specific
British and International Scout Groups operating in Shanghai. Several essays document family
history and include contributions from all three Kliene brothers. The series is arranged
alphabetically within boxes.
Series III,
Ronald I. Kliene Files,consists of a manuscript
researched and written by Ronald on the history of the Shanghai Volunteer Corps and the
Corps' Scottish Company.
Series I: Albert A. Kliene Files, 1878-2012
Series II: Denis G. Kliene Files, 1920-2002
Series III: Ronald I. Kliene Files, 1998
The collection is open for research use.
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires
the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
2002, 2012, 2017
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Denis Kliene, Albert Kliene, 2000.
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual,
or see the
Citing Archival Materials
guide.
Jessica Geiser, 2013
Mallory Furnier, 2017
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Documents