JOZEF KRZYWONOS

He was born on 12^th February 1920 in Przemysl where he was educated and finally graduated in 1938.  His interest in aviation developed whilst he was still a teenager.  Because of financial difficulties, he could not continue his education to university leveland so he applied to join the aviation school in Warsaw.  He was accepted and, from January 1939, he trained as a technical officer.

On the outbreak of war he was evacuated to Romania and arrived at Tulcei where he learned that he would be interned and decided to make a break.  He returned to Poland and went to live with his paternal grandparents for a while and then he moved on to Bucharest and travelled by rail through Jugoslavia and Italy to France.  He arrived there on 4^th February 1940 and was sent to the Polish Depot at Lyon-Bron.  Three months later he was transferred to Versailles where he learned the principles of radio and Morse code.

On the fall of France he went to La Rochelle and, in June 1940, he managed to find a ship to Plymouth in England.  He was sent to an infantry base near Biggar in Scotland and he objected because he was an aviator.  He was given 14 days in the glasshouse but served only seven and then, by a circuitous route, he managed to get to the Polish Depot in Blackpool during November 1940.

He was allocated to 309 army co-operation Squadron at Renfrew in Scotland after some time there, he moved on to RAF Cranwell in February 1942.  He took a shortened officer training course and passed out as best man on his intake.  In September 1942 he was assigned to 304 Squadron at RAF Dale as signals officer.

He was promoted to Pilot Officer on 1^st October 1942 and moved on to 318 fighter Squadron in charge of maintenance of radio and navigation equipment.  His next move was to Port Said in Egypt to prepare for the invasion of Italy.  He remained with this squadron until August 1946 when they returned to England.  He had married an Italian lady and stayed behind pending his demobilization which occurred on 1^st May 1947.  Unwilling to return to Poland, he applied to live in South Africa but was refused entry and so he moved to Argentina.  He took a job with Alpha Airlines as a communications technician on flying boats.

He moved on to the United States of America in 1959 and eventually took out a private pilot’s licence and settled in Shelburne, Vermont, USA.

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