Born: March 6, 1920, in Podleszany (pow. Mielec, woj. krakowskie, Polska)

Died: May 16, 2005 in London, Ontario, Canada

Buried : St. Peter’s Cemetery, London, Ontario, Canada

Family: father Józef; mother Katarzyna (maiden name: Halat)

Married: Wanda Ludkiewicz

Military Medals: Polish Medals: Medal Wojska, Krzyż Pamiątkowy Monte Cassino; British Medals: 1939-45 Star; Italy Star; Defense Medal; War Medal 1939-1945.

Fates before joining Anders Army : In 1940 he was deported by the Soviets to Siberia to work in logging camps. 

Military history: In 1942, due to the efforts of General Sikorski, who secured the release of captured Poles by the Soviets under the Sikorski-Mayski agreement, he was able to join and fight with the Polish Army as a gunner providing support to the infantry. The Polish 2nd Corps under General Wladyslaw Anders had Jan fighting with the Allies in campaigns across Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Egypt and finally to Italy. Jan served with the 8th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, 3rd Carpathian Infantry Division, in Italy and fought at Monte Cassino, Ancona, Macerata and Bologna. 

Post-War: Once the war ended and as a result of fighting alongside the Allies, Jan was allowed to go to England to live in a Displaced Persons’ camp that was created to handle millions of refugees from Eastern Europe, the Nazi German concentration camps and elsewhere. These were the people who could no longer go home due to fear of persecution. As a result of the post-war refugee crisis, Jan arrived by sea in Canada on May 25th, 1947, at Pier 21 Halifax, on the ship Aquitania. Jan was one of the thousands of Polish veterans who arrived as part of Canada’s bulk-labour program for agriculture. Jan was employed by a farmer located in Lethbridge, Alberta, under a state administered labour contract. The contract required that Jan work for two years to fulfill the terms of the contract or risk being deported. For two years, Jan worked on the farm under difficult and sometimes abusive conditions. Jan survived the Soviet Siberian gulags, the battles of the war and Monte Cassino – and he survived and endured this final step to ultimate freedom. He continued finding work in construction in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. He eventually moved to London in 1952.  London was a welcoming place, with many Polish immigrants settling in the city. Jan worked hard, finding the right opportunity until he landed the job that would take him to his retirement – working in the kitchens as a cook at Westminister Hospital (now part of Victoria Hospital). Jan was intent on becoming a Canadian citizen, which he achieved in 1954. As a proud Canadian, he helped strengthen the Polish community in London by financially contributing to the building of Our Lady of Czestochowa Roman Catholic Church and the Polish Veterans’ SPK Hall. In 1959, with the help of a mail order bride service prominent at the time, Jan found a Polish woman named Wanda Ludkiewicz from the town of Świdwin, in the county of Koszalin. Wanda’s family was part of the Polish population who were repatriated when the territory where they were living was taken over by the Soviet Union. They were relocated to the Western part of Poland – territory taken from Germany. Jan and Wanda were married on Dec. 26, 1959.

author : Stan Skrzeszewski

source : “Book of Remembrance / Książka Pamięci”, Polish Combatant’s Association, Branch 2. London, Ontario, Canada, 2018.