STANISLAW JAN PIASECKI - UPDATE

For anyone interested in progress on the story of Stanislaw Jan Piasecki; new pictures have been added to the entry in his name dated 4th October 2010 , which can be accessed by the simple expedient of typing his name in the search box at the top left of the blog page.

STEFAN PIASECKI

He was a mechanic and was born on 9th May 1915 at Sulejowek, Poland which is about 10 miles east of Warsaw. Immediately prior to the German invasion of Poland the Poles had secretly moved their men and machines to grass airstrips so he would not have been bombed in the first days of the war. When the Russians attacked, 17 days later, they were evacuated to Romania where they were interned.

The Romanian authorities turned a blind eye to escapes and he would have simply walked out of the camp during the night. He would then have made his way to Bucarest where the Polish Embassy would give them money, false papers and practical assistance to get to Lyon-Bron in France, where the Polish Air Force was reforming. There is no documentation on how he got there but the most common routes were overland through Jugoslavia and Italy or through Greece and then by sea to Marseilles.

When France capitulated, in late June 1940, they were ordered to make their way to England. Because of the speed of his arrival in this country, he must have come by the shortest route from where he was. This involved an overland journey to Port Vendres, near Marseilles, and then on to the MV Apapa, whose normal run was Liverpool to West Africa. At the time it had been commandeered as a troop/refugee carrier. The vessel docked in Liverpool on 7th July 1940.

From Liverpool it was just a short train journey to the Polish Air Force Depot at RAF Blackpool. There is no doubt that he was there as all Air Force personnel were sent there for assessment and further training before being allocated to a squadron. In his case 304 Squadron and he was still with them in August 1942.

He was present at RAF Dale when Wellington HX384 (NZ-L) crashed on 12th August 1942 after being struck by ferocious cross winds as it tried to take off. It was blown into the sea and the entire crew were killed. His gruesome task was to watch over the wreckage, which was just offshore in shallow water, until the weather abated and the bodies could be recovered.

He survived the war and remained in England; the London Gazette records that he became a British citizen on 11th February 1950. At this time he was living in Horden, Co Durham and was working as a powerloader on the coal face of the local mine. He died on 28th September 1999 and is buried in Horden Cemetery, Peterlee near Sunderland.

Photo courtesy of Geoff Griffiths

STANISLAW JAN PIASECKI

 

He was born on 16th January 1922 at Tykocin near Bialystok and joined the training school in Swiecie in 1938. Because of the outbreak of war, he could not complete his course and his entire class was evacuated from their base in Moderowka to Romania.

16 year old Air Cadet at SPLdM - 1938

 



He arrived in France on 21st November 1939 and requested a transfer to England which he was granted and arrived here on 6th March 1940 apparently at RAF Manston in Kent. This is most unusual as the normal reception centre at that time was RAF Eastchurch (also in Kent).

His initial service consisted of duties with the anti-aircraft defence of RAF Bramcote in Warwickshire and RAF Syerston in Nottinghamshire which were both Polish stations. One source quotes 304 and 305 squadrons but this is incorrect as neither had been formed at this point in time.

He began his pilot training on 9th September 1941 and completed it on 10th July 1943. In order to gain flying experience he was posted to 3 Air Gunnery School at RAF Castle Kennedy near Stranraer in Scotland but two weeks later he was sent to RAF Squires Gate (Blackpool) for a short navigation course. On 30th November 1943 he was posted to 3OTU at Haverfordwest in Wales for his operational training.

On 7th April 1944 he was posted to 304 Squadron at RAF Chivenor in Devon. He completed a tour of duty with them and was sent back to the Polish Depot at Blackpool for a rest from operational flying in April 1945. He served for a while as a staff pilot until his posting to RAF Dunholme Lodge on a date that has been suggested as 1948 but this is unlikely as it closed at the end of the war.
 

During his service he was awarded the Cross of Valour three times and the Air Medal. He was demobilised on 12th November 1948 and went to work in the coal mines. From 1953 he worked as a skilled toolmaker. He retired early at the beginning of 1985 due to ill health. His civilian work would probably have been in Staffordshire as he was last heard of in Walsall in 1999.  He died in Cannock, Staffordshire on 16th October 2009.

Receiving the Cross of Valour from General Izycki

 

With special thanks to Ryszard Kolodziedjski for the use of photographs from his personal collection