He was born on 3rd February 1917 into an
ethnic Polish family in Wiazma, Russia.
His parents were Stefan and Florentine (nee Kwiatkowska) Dunajko. His father was a veterinary surgeon. The family returned to Poland and he grew up
in Biala Podlaska where he was educated until 1932. His higher education was at the School of
Crafts and Industry at Brest nad Bug (now Belarus). After graduating he worked locally at the
Podlasie Aircraft Factory until he was conscripted into the army in October
1938 and posted to the 5th Air Regiment.
He did his military training and served with
the 55th Squadron but from April to August 1930 he trained as an air gunner
with the 59th Squadron on Lublin R8 bi-planes and later PZL 23 Karas light
bombers.
On 16th August 1939, having completed his
training, he was posted back to the 55th Squadron and on 31st August of that
year the squadron moved to Marynin airfield near Radzynia Podlaski from where
they fought in the first week of the September Campaign before moving to Marian
airfield close to Lutsk.
He is known to have been part of a three man
crew in which he was the air gunner; the navigator was Sergeant Jakub Ciolek
(later killed when Wellington Z1386 (GR-P) of 301 Squadron was shot down by
flak at Lorient, France on 6th August 1942) and the pilot was Sergeant Franciszek
Skarpetowski (who flew with 305 Squadron and survived the War). Their only known sortie was to bomb and
strafe a German column on the road between Radom and Czestochowa on 3rd
September 1939.
Once they reached Lutsk they were ordered to
hand over their aircraft to the 31st Reconnaissance Squadron and travel to
Romania where they were to pick up new aircraft shipped from Great Britain and
return to Lutsk. This was a futile
mission because the ship carrying the aircraft was diverted away but in any
case they were disarmed and interned when they arrived in Romania on the
morning of 18th September 1939.
They were taken to a camp at Radauti then
moved to Mihai Bravu then finally to Campulung Muscel where it was discovered
that some of those who had crossed through the Danube delta had picked up
malaria and blackwater fever - this included Jerzy Dunajko and the illness
prevented an early escape because he was unfit to travel. Nevertheless, the Polish diplomats in
Bucarest were busily organising false identification documents and travel
documents to get as many men as possible to France from where they could rejoin
the Polish forces.
There is no clear evidence of the route he
took out of Romania but it is believed
that he travelled by sea to Marseilles and that would mean that he sailed from
either Constanta or Balcic (now in Bulgaria) and through the Dardanelles and
the Aegean Sea and across the Mediterranean via Syria, North Africa or Malta. In any event, he arrived in France on 20th
November 1939 and a week later he was based at Lyon-Bron where he stayed until
the fall of France was imminent and then was evacuated to the port of Ste Jan
de Luz on the Atlantic coast near the Spanish border.
This was no easy evacuation as the troops
waiting to travel to England were harassed by the Luftwaffe and the evacuation
vessels were also being bombed by the
Luftwaffe and stalked by U-Boats of the Kriegsmarine. Eventually he was embarked on the Arandora
Star and reached Liverpool on 27th June 1940.
Two days later he was posted to RAF Kirkham
where he would probably had the usual induction to King's Regulations, the
British way of doing things and the inevitable square bashing. He would also learn the rudiments of the
English Language. On 18th August he
returned to the Polish Depot at Blackpool and on 2nd September 1940 he was
posted to 18 OTU at RAF Hucknall for an air gunnery course and to join a crew
and train with them before being posted to a squadron. However he was removed from this course on
24th June 1941 and transferred to ground crew at Blackpool Depot but no reasons
are apparent. There was no suggestion
that this was for disciplinary reasons and it seems likely that it was because
of a recurrence of his malaria which would affect his balance and would cause
him difficulties with his inner ear when flying.
On 11th July 1941 he was posted to 304
Squadron at RAF Syerston as a wireless mechanic but he was only in post for a
couple of months before his malaria flared up again and it was quite serious as
he spent several weeks in the military hospital at RAF Cosford from 23rd
September to 9th December 1941 Shortly
after that he was sent on a short radio training course at Chelmsford, Essex.
By the end of 1942 his malaria flared up
again and he was admitted to Haverfordwest County Hospital from 11th - 30th
December. He stayed with 304 Squadron
until 23rd April 1943 when he was transferred to RAF Detling to become a ground
based wireless operator with 318 Squadron.
In this role he travelled to Egypt and
Palestine to prepare for the invasion of Italy.
The squadron was finally posted there in May 1944 to provide fighter
support to the Polish and other Allied forces there. He was moved to 5500 Mobile Signals Unit to
facilitate communications between the Squadron and the ground forces and he
continued this duty until his return to England in August 1946. Unfortunately his malaria flared up several
times and he was treated in field hospitals on these occasions.
On arrival back in Britain he was briefly
assigned to RAF Coltishall but, within days, he was sent to No 4 (Polish) ACHU
(Air Crew Holding Unit) at RAF Cammeringham, Lincolnshire where he probably
stayed until its closure in December 1946 and he then joined the Polish
Resettlement Corps which assured him a wage and a place to live for a contract
period of two years between leaving the Polish Air Force and final
demobilisation at the turn of the years 1948/1949.
After becoming a civilian, he did manual work
and then found a job with George Brough Ltd in Nottingham. Until the outbreak of war they were motor
cycle manufacturers and after the war they specialised in precision parts for
other motorcycle companies and for the newly emerging aerospace industry.
He became a British citizen on 27th May 1963
and he sadly died on 14th June 1971 at the early age of 54, leaving a wife and
two sons. He is buried at Wilford Hill
Cemetery in West Bridgford, Nottingham.
With acknowledgements to Wojciech Zmyslony for
information and the photograph
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