This is the man who changed identities with Jozef Franciszek Jaworzyn to help his 16 year old friend join the Polish Air Force in exile.
Warrant Officer (plutonowy) Eugeniusz Jaworski
Pilot
Serial No 784055
Serving with 61
OTU
Born 24th
November 1921
At Ĺuniniec, Poland
(now Belarus)
Died 27th April 1944
Buried at Market Drayton, Shropshire, England
In the aftermath of the September campaign 16 year old Jozeph Franciszek Jaworzyn and Eugeniusz Jaworski became friends. This was some time between the fall of Poland and their evacuation from France on the Arandora Star. They arrived in Glasgow together and their service numbers were only five apart. On the journey the two conspired, with a few other Polish pilots under training, to give the young Jaworzyn lessons in the elements of flying so that he could bluff his way to become a pilot.
When they arrived, Jaworzyn failed his medical on account of his under nourished condition and his slight stature. He immediately applied for a second medical and was granted one, three weeks later.
This time Jaworski took the medical and passed! From that time, their identities were changed and no one was any the wiser until Eugeiusz Jaworski's untimely death on 27th April 1944.
In the meantime, Jozef Franciszek Jaworzyn succeeded in becoming a bomber pilot with 304 Squadron and Eugeniusz Jaworski went to 61 OTU at RAF Rednal, Shropshire where he trained as a Spitfire pilot.
The deception was discovered after an unfortunate training accident when two Spitfire MkIIa aircraft P7608 and P8079 from 61 OTU collided in mid-air over Maesbrook, Shropshire. That flown by W/O Lis severed the tail unit of Jaworski's aircraft and both pilots were killed.
I am indebted to Kelvin Youngs and Aircrew Remembered for some of the information and to Piotr Hodyra and Krzystek's List for the photographs.
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