A Russian national, Dimitri PHILIPPOFF (Dima to his friends) is a "White Russian." White Russians are members of the Russian nobility who remained loyal to the Tsar. Many fought against the Reds during the 1917 Revolution and fought against the rise of Bolshevism.
It was during this period that many chose exile and France, and more specifically Paris, where they found refuge. The biggest wave of emigration took place in the early 1920s, and it was with this wave that Dima arrived in the capital when he was only 13 years old.
A top-level swimmer, Dima became a sports journalist for L'Auto, the leading sports magazine, as well as for Paris Soir, a daily newspaper that disappeared after the liberation. In the early 1930s, he joined forces with some Russian compatriots to form a water polo team. The team took the name Les Ours Blancs (The White Bears). He also used this name to open the first "club" in Corsica near Calvi. This was in 1935.
During the Second World War, Dimitri found a number of swimmers and joined the Racing Club de France with them.
In 1948, he joined forces with Edith Filipaccahi to revive the idea of Les Ours Blancs and open the Olympic Club, also in Calvi. In 1951, he joined Gérard Blitz and the Club Méditerranée. He opened Golfo di Baratti that same year as village chief.
After leaving Club Méditerranée in the late 1950s, he founded Voyages Philipoff. The Philippoff Holiday Villages are villages of huts organized in the same way as those of Club Méditerranée (why reinvent the world?). There is a village in Livorno, Tuscany, and another in Nisportino on the island of Elba.
The village built by Philoppoff in 1959 in the province of Livorno but in San Vincenzo (10 km north of Baratti). At first it was called "White Bear" then became "Europe No. 1".
In 1965/1966, 12 km north of this village, I measured and then directed the construction of the Club Méditerranée Village "DONORATICO" with Roger Caillet Village Chief in 1966
Salve Giorgio.
Paul.
Mr. Manetti, a greeting from Paris from Robert's son.
Hello, my name is Patricia Courbez, I went on vacation to San Vincenzo around 1965, 1966, with my parents and my sister. So many good memories. I was friends with Mathilde Philipoff, her daughter called TIDOU at the time, her nickname. I have photos of Tidou and me on the beach at the club, I would like to have news of this person, I can't find anything on the net. It seems to me that at the time his wife and Tidou's mother was called Françoise, I'm not sure, all this is a long time ago, but if you have any information to share with me, don't hesitate. I'll leave you my email address.
Hello, I am Tidou's cousin. My aunt was Odette Coterelle, Dima's wife after his divorce from Françoise.
Unfortunately, my dear Tidou died very young after a difficult life. I learned of her death by chance while talking with her sister-in-law, Hélène.
I had a deep affection for her, and I don't have any photos of her.
Duparque Christian,
this page does not permit copying and pasting. I only speak English – Russian.
Dimitrii Philippoff, When did he die (date of death), and where was he buried? Cemetery? Any living relatives?
Константин, напишите мне.
Hello, that's done, kisses, Hélène, half-sister of Thidou..
Hello Helene, I'm Elisabeth (Lisa). I'm the daughter of Basil, a White Russian emigrant like Dima, who was one of his best friends. I have extraordinary memories of our holidays in Nisportino and I still have a commemorative gold medal that Dima had struck for the 30th anniversary of the Polar Bear Villages.
Hello, my name is Jean Francois Joffre. I met Mathide GO miniclub in Donoratico, Italy, in the summer of 1975 with her friend Caroline Weinberg. I was a GO excursionist. My father, Lucien Joffre, was a member of the club from the first village in Alcudia and became the club's lawyer.
I have photos and ektas from this period.
Hello, I am sad to learn of Thidou's passing, I spent some very pleasant moments in Italy with her, I have not forgotten them.
I have searched for photos of Thidou, I have photos of her from 1964 in San Vincenzo, but with this site I cannot send them. If you want me to send them to you by email or to your postal address, send me your contact details and I will send them. She was a pretty blonde, we are together on the beach and at a costume party with an entertainer. Do not hesitate to contact me.
Family holidays, we first enjoyed the Philipoff village in San Vincenzo in 1968 (end of August, September). We went back the following years until the village closed forever. But the pinewood is still there, at Ripa degli Etruschi, and you can try to do uninvasive tourist archaeology: beyond the outdoors eating and dancing areas easy to recognize, if you sweep a bit the sand here and there, you can find the foundations of the “paillottes”, (at least, this was the case when I visited the region in the 2000's). At the time, we also put on San Vincenzo harbor the ancient baker of, as he said, the “villaggio francese”. Buon viaggio nel tempo!
I'm Hélène, from the Philippoff family, Mr. Konstantin. Could you tell me why you are interested because it affects our family? Thank you.
Hello, Helene. I would like to share with you some information about the history of the Philippoff family in Russia. (Dmitry's mother is Galina Fedorovna, father is Dimitri Dmitrievich, Dmitri's father had two brothers). Please contact me. (gru.kaluga@mail.ru)
Hello Hélène, I'm a sports historian and I'm looking for a few pieces of information (dates of birth and death) on Dimitri. Could you help me? Thank you.
Hello Hélène, I'm Patricia Courbez, my parents, still alive at 92, remember you. They were loyal customers of your dad's clubs. So many good memories for me, my sister, and my parents, of simple holidays in straw bungalows, with toilets sometimes a bit far away, but a wonderful feeling of freedom.
I have photos of Thidou from 1964 in San Vincenzo, on the beach and at a fancy dress party with an entertainer. I can send them to you if you want. I'll give you my email address if you want to contact me; with this site I can't send photos. Very sad to know that Thidou has left us. I had a great time with her. Mom still wears her polar bear medal; she cares about it a lot. Best regards. Courbez Patricia
I just saw your message... Here is my email. Hélène. nikita@orange.fr , thank you. Hélène Philippoff..(I'm not sure if this email works), it's April 8, 2024. If you have any photos... Thank you very much. Kind regards.
I had the great joy of having met the Philippoff family at the age of 9 for the first season in the village of San Vincenzo with the images very present in my memory of Thidou (we were the same age) and Dima with his aura and his American convertible.
Shortly after, Dima met my father at the port of Piombino and convinced him to join him in Nisportino for the bar season, bringing with him his little boy, whom he didn't know what to do with that summer.
Looking back on this period of my childhood allowed me to realize to what extent Dima had influenced my entire existence with his spirit, his charisma and his example...
The "Vacances Philippoff" logo, which was printed on the white t-shirts of all the staff, the magnificent white bear, sits in my garden (arranged as Dima thought) and I would like to tell
Helene again how much her Dad meant to me.
I send you a very moving memory
Giancarlo
Nisportino I was 18 years old in 1968 there was Raimondo at the bar on the beach Hey Jude The Beatles had just come out I had bought the 45 and we flirted in the evening to the sound of the Fab Four I shared my hut with a future dentist so many memories anchored I am 74 years old and I still think about these tickets of all colors with a white bear in the middle do you remember this time? What happened to Raimondo, Maud etc.
Hello, I was GO with Mathilde in Donoratico at the club