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In April 1919 HMS Marlborough, with Arthur Pridham (1886-1975) as First Lieutenant, was sent to persuade the Dowager Empress Marie of Russia, members of the Imperial Family and their entourage to evacuate before the Bolsheviks could capture and/or kill them. They were evacuated from Yalta and Novorossisk and most disembarked at Malta. In his diary Pridham shows great admiration for the Dowager Empress and she gave him a pair of diamond and ruby cufflinks after her fortnight onboard.