EDWARD WRONA

WRONA L/Ac Edward P-782160

© Mme A Heritier

He was born on 6th October 1918 at Jaworzno, Upper Silesia, Poland. He escaped from Poland at towards the end of the September Campaign and made his way to France, via Romania, and Lebanon. On the capitulation of France, he escaped again and made his way to Scotland, probably by sea from Marseilles or St Jean de Luz – either way, a very hazardous journey.

He was a member of the ground crew (mechanic) who was on board R1413 when it crash landed at Micklefield, near Leeds, West Yorkshire on 1st October 1941, It was repaired but shot down over the Bay of Biscay on 16th October 1942 with the loss of the whole crew.

Unlike that bomber, he survived the war and he was thought to have returned to Poland in 1947 but his daughter, Aline, informed me that he was demobilised in that year and moved to Douai, near Lille, in Northern France. He lived there for the rest of his life; he died there on 29th August 1985. She also told me that he met her mother there during 1945-1946, which suggests that he left 304 Squadron and joined another Polish Squadron, operating as part of the 2nd Tactical Air Force (2TAF) following the Normandy landings after D-Day (6th June 1944).

The photograph shows a POLAND shoulder flash, which indicates that it was taken after he joined the exiled Polish forces in Great Britain.