Born: July 11, 1923, Słonim (Nowogródek voivodship, Poland)

Died: February 22, 2018, Manchester (UK)  

Buried : Manchester

Military Medals: Polish – Monte Cassino Cross

Fates before joining Anders Army: born in today’s Belarus, near Słonim, in the family of a military settler. He spent his childhood outside the city, in a military settlement, preparing for farming.

On February 10, 1940, in the first wave of deportations by the Soviets, he was taken to the vicinity of Arkhangelsk, to the settlement of Krutaja Osip. During the deportation, he managed to smuggle an old bicycle into a wagon, which later, when in exile, saved the family’s life, exchanged with the local people for food and a live goat. The whole family, including underage children, worked in exile in felling the forest.

Military history: Exactly on the second anniversary of the deportation, February 10, 1942, the family left the settlement, going to the Polish diplomatic mission in Vologda. From there, they were directed south, to Uzbekistan, where Władysław joined the Polish army in Tashkent. In April 1942, with the first evacuation wave, he arrived at Pahlevi, Persia.

Despite the desire to continue military training, due to exhaustion and a serious illness, he got stuck in Pahlevi, and then ended up in Tehran in a Polish hospital. After recovering, he was assigned to a supply company stationed in Tehran, where he spent the next 7 months working in the back room of the army and taking care of his sick brother and father. Due to her health condition, his mother stayed in Tashkent, where she died soon, not awaiting evacuation from the USSR.

After leaving Tehran, Władysław found himself in Iraq, where he was assigned to the 15th Workshop Company. when repairing military cars or organizing field kitchens. He also suffered severe injuries in a car accident in Iraq and was hospitalized again for several months.

After recovering through Palestine and Egypt, he reached the Italian front in early 1944. He took part in the siege of Monte Cassino, securing the rear as a member of the Workshop Company – he was stationed about 8 km from the battlefield. Then he went through the combat trail to Bologna. The war ended in Predappio.

Post-War: After the end of the war, he remained in Italy until 1946. Moved to England in the winter of 1946, initially he was sent with his Company to various cleaning and repair works. After demobilization, not wanting to return to Poland, he stayed in England, near Manchester. Co-founder and a long-time member of the Association of Polish Combatants, an active and respected Polish community activist. He died at the age of 94 in Manchester.

Autor: Krzysztof Hoffmann, Warszawa, Polska