He was born on 11th
March 1913 in the County of Lubaczow, to Roman Szklarski and Katarzyna (nee
Hamuda). He began his education at the
Piramowicz School in Przemysl on 1st September 1919 and stayed there
for the first three years, completing his education there in 1922. After that, his father, who worked for PKP
(Polskie Koleje Panstwowe), the Polish state railways, was moved to Domazyr
near Lwow. Following that, he passed the
entry examination for the Koscuiszko Gymnasium School in Lwow, where he stayed
until 1928 after being accepted for higher education. He was forced to leave school because his
father could no longer support the cost, because of events leading to the Wall
Street Crash in 1929.
Family photograph showing Mieczyslaw standing
in front of his mustachioed father on the right c1913
He stayed with his parents
until October 1931 and, in May 1931, he applied to Panstwowej Komendy
Uzupelnien in Grodek Jagiellonski for help to enrol him in the army. He was accepted as fit for army service and
remained there from October 1931 until September 1933 in 61 Eskadra of the 6th
Air Regiment, based in Lwow. From
January to April of 1932, he trained as a mechanic and then did practical
training as an assistant aircraft mechanic (apprentice?) until September of
that year.
After this, he was placed on
the reserve list and returned to civilian life.
He applied to a private school to finish his studies in the humanities,
but had to give it up because these were the Depression years and his family could not support his
studies. He applied to Government
Agencies such as the state railways, the Police, the Post Office and the
Ministry of Trade, but without success.
In September 1937, he was
recalled for four weeks refresher training in 62 Eskadra of the 6th
Air Regiment and then returned to his civilian life but remained on the army
reserve list.
In April 1938 he applied to
Malopolski Zwiazek Mleczarski (roughly equivalent to the British Milk Marketing
Board) and was accepted for three months unpaid training in the accounts
department of one of the 1,475 co-operatives then extant. He worked there from 1st May 1938
until 30th July 1938 and obtained good references but was not
retained as paid staff.
Three months later, he was
accepted as an assistant in the Trade Department (Commercial Office?) of the
railway station at Hmirdyczow-Kochawina where he was paid 1 zloty 50 groszy per
day but it only lasted until the end of 1938, when the budget for that post ran
out. At the time of writing (February
2016) that would just about buy one cigarette,
half a bar of chocolate, a small bread roll or pay half the postage on a single
letter within Britain! I realise that
there has been vast inflation over the intervening years but, even then, that
must have been very low pay.
Two weeks later, on 15th
January 1939, he took up a post at the paper works at Kochawina, near Stryj,
where he worked until 14th September 1939 as a clerk. During this time, with war imminent, he did a
further four weeks training (19th June to 15th July) as a
reservist with 6th Air Regiment.
He was lucky, in that he was
not conscripted by the Russians, and left the area, escaping to Hungary via
Ujhely and Miskolc to a little place named Merohoveod, where he remained until
April of 1940. During this time, he made
contact with an illegal underground group in Eger who helped him to get to
Budapest (where he arrived on 12th April 1940).
Mieczyslaw on the right with other escaping Polish airmen
in Split, Jugoslavia 26th April 1940
Mieczyslaw second from the left with other escaping
Polish airmen in Split, Jugoslavia 26th April 1940
Later that night, he joined a
group of Poles and they moved to the border with Jugoslavia. Two days later, they made a night crossing of
the River Drava and made their way to Zagreb, where they arrived on the 18th
April. Six days later, they arrived at
Split, where they waited for a boat to evacuate them. On 27th April 1940, they boarded
the SS Patris and sailed for Marseilles, where they arrived on 1st May 1940.
Ticket and identity document for his journey on SS Patris from Split to Marseilles
There appears to be some
dispute about where the Poles gathered, but Sgt Szklarski’s own report states
that they were initially dispersed to Carpiagne the home of the 4th
Regiment of Dragoon Guards. He was moved
to the barracks at Lyon (Lyon-Bron?) on 4th May and left there on 17th
May 1940
‘as a member of 108 Batallion (Park) in Montpellier. He remained there as a working assistant
mechanic until the fall of France.
En route to St Jean de Luz, Mieczyslaw is in the dark
shirt and braces in both pictures
Note the pointed roof of the French railway wagons
Loading up on the ill fated Arandora Star
Mieczyslaw still in French uniform
At that time, he was under the
control of a Captain of Artillery, Loboda – and another named Tregano – and he
left Montpellier en route for St Juan de Luz, where he boarded the SS Arandora
Star. This vessel was torpedoed and
sunk, with enormous loss of life, just a few days later; the majority of
victims being Italian and German internees and prisoners of war. He arrived in Liverpool on 27th
June 1940 and, five days later, was sent to RAF Weeton in Lancashire and later to RAF
Blackpool.
Square bashing in basic training at RAF Weeton, 1940
He was there until 23rd
August 1940, when he was attached to the newly forming 304 Squadron at RAF
Bramcote. He started work as a clerk
there on 28th August 1940.
Between 1st and 11th October
1941 he was at the Polish Depot at Blackpool.
On 1st October 1941 he was accepted as medically fit to be
trained as an airman and was sent to No 7 Air Gunnery School at RAF Stormy Down
near Bridgend, Glamorgan for training as
an air gunner on 12th October 1941 – a course that he completed on 21st
November 1941, after which he was sent to the Blackpool Depot.
Gunnery Course at RAF Stormy Down
October - December 1941
On 9th December of that year, he was transferred to
18 OTU at RAF Bramcote near Nuneaton in Warwickshire. The purpose of the Operational Training Unit
was for tactical training and for crews to be formed and to learn to act as a
cohesive unit because their lives depended on each other; it was important that
they developed trust in each other.
He remained there until 26th
April 1942, when he was returned to 304 Squadron at RAF Lindholme near
Doncaster in Yorkshire . Two days later,
he reported there and began his service with them.
Coastal Command made serious
mental and physical demands on aircrews, often requiring flights of 10 or 11
hours over featureless ocean and that frequently in appalling weather. To stay alive, they had to be alert and
maintain their concentration for long periods.
This may often have been boring and inactive but it would often keep
U-boats submerged and a lower risk to merchant shipping. In spite of this, there were moments of
excitement.
25th June 1942, flying out of
RAF Dale in Pembrokeshire, his crew was detailed to Bomber Command to attack
Bremen but failed to locate the target and went on to their secondary target of
Bremervorde in Lower Saxony where they dropped six 500lb bombs from a height of
only 1,250 feet. They were unable to
observe the results because of concentrated flak and an attack by a
Messerschmidt Me110 night fighter. They
were hit several times but all the crew were safe.
11th August 1942 his crew
attacked a U-boat, dropping six depth charges from a height of only 50 feet and
just 36 seconds after it submerged. They
circled for 18 minutes and saw residue and wreckage but were unable to confirm
a kill. However, it is likely that some
considerable damage was done.
24th September 1942, flying at
a height of only 2,000 feet they were attacked by a Junkers Ju88 and were fired
upon but no hits were taken. They dived
down to 1,000 feet and took refuge in a cloud bank after which the fighter
broke contact and left.
8th November 1942, flying out
of RAF Talbenny in Pembrokeshire, they were again detailed to Bomber Command
and took part in a bombing raid on shipping between Bordeaux and Grave Point on
the Atlantic Coast of France. They made
a run at 5,500 feet dropping four bombs and, five minutes later, a second run
at 5,000 feet dropping five bombs. The
explosions were seen but poor visibility made it impossible to observe the
results.
Receiving the Cross of Valour at RAF Talbenny, November
1942. Mieczyslaw is between the Officers in peaked caps
12th December 1942, flying out
of RAF Dale, they suffered a starboard engine failure and flew for some time on
only one engine. They put out a Mayday
call and jettisoned their bombs and depth charges but the engine kicked in
again and after 1 hour 22 minutes they were able to cancel the Mayday.
26th January 1943, they were
again detailed to a bombing mission over Bordeaux. They dropped five 500lb bombs from a height
of 6,000 feet and observed the explosions which started fires that could still
be seen ten miles away after they turned for home.
8th March 1943, they were
attacked by a Junkers Ju88 and tracer was seen to pass across their flight path
but no hits were recorded and the pilot made a sharp turn to port an
successfully reached cloud cover.
17th July 1943, flying out of
RAF Davidstow Moor in Cornwall, they were one of three aircraft sent out on an
air sea rescue mission but it had to be aborted due to bad weather conditions
and very poor visibility. They were
unable to make it back to base and diverted to RAF Dale.
In total, he flew 50 missions
whilst with 304 Squadron and possibly a further six with 18 Operational
Training Unit as his records state 56 operational flights. In this time, he
served at RAF Lindholme (Yorkshire), RAF Tiree (Inner Hebrides), RAF Dale
(Pembrokeshire - 2 separate postings), RAF Talbenny (Pembrokeshire), RAF
Docking (Norfolk), RAF Davidstow Moor (Cornwall), RAF Predannack (Cornwall) and
RAF Chivenor (Devon).
Presentation of the Virtuti Militari by the Polish President
in exile President Władysław Raczkiewicz. Mieczyslaw is
the last airman on the right
Virtuti Militari Certificate
During this service, he was
awarded the Cross of Valour on three occasions and the Virtuti Militari on 7th
May 1943. He remained with the Squadron
until he became tour expired and was transferred to the Polish Depot on 13th
September 1943. Ten days later he was
transferred to Polish Headquarters in London where he had administrative duties
until 5th May 1944.
He was recommended for Officer
training at the college shared by the Polish Army and Air Force - the Szkola
Podchorazych Piechoty i Kawalerii Zmotoryzowanej. It is not known precisely where this
establishment was located but he appears to have attended at a time between the
move from its location at Auchtermuchty in Fife and its new premises in Crieff,
Perthshire. His records state that it
was near North Berwick which is in East Lothian. He was there from 6th May 1944 until 2nd
August 1944. In any event, he passed the
course and was granted the rank of Pilot Officer with seniority from 1st
October 1944. The most likely location
was Archerfield House at Dirleton, which had a cadet school, a woman's
auxiliary school and an Officer training unit and this building was large
enough to accommodate the training but billeting would probably have been
elsewhere.
Archerfield House, Dirleton, East Lothian
Following this, in November
1944, he was posted to the Polish Depot where he served in the Training
Department until 20th April 1945 when he was briefly seconded to Bentley Priory
at Harrow, Middlesex, HQ of Fighter Command and the home of the Royal Observer
Corps. On 26th June 1945 (with effect
from 1st April 1945) he was promoted to Flying Officer and transferred into the
Research and Experimental Pool at the Royal Aircraft Establishment,
Farnborough, Hampshire as an administrator and Adjutant to the Polish forces
there.
On 9th June 1945 he married
Mary Eileen Hunt at Blackpool.
Mieczyslaw with Mary
In August 1947 he was in
Hereford at the Royal Air Force Secretarial Branch, Training Establishment
where he was undertaking further training during his time with the Polish
Resettlement Corps, from
which he was finally
discharged in December 1948.
After the War had ended Mieczyslaw led a parade in the town of Shrewsbury. This was far from where he was serving and could have been in honour of the Allied Victory or could have been part of the Polish Soldiers' Day celebration but I am inclined to think that a more likely explanation was that it was a memorial service for his brother Tadeusz, a fellow Officer, who was unfortunately killed in a road accident in that town on 26th August 1947.
Series of photographs showing the Air Force parade to
St Chad's Church, Shrewsbury probably in memory of
Tadeusz Szklarski
However, it is during his time at RAE Farnborough right through to his discharge from the Polish Resettlement Corps that details of his service become very sketchy and give credence to otherwise unsubstantiated family lore that he was involved in some kind of clandestine work that he described to one member of the family as potentially very dangerous.
He rose rapidly from NCO rank
to Flying Officer which does not seem to square with him then being buried in
an administrative role. His military
records describe him as intelligent and very capable of performing any task
given to him. Again this seems an
unlikely waste of talent. There are
stories within the family which suggest that he was training for a return to
Poland to carry out dangerous and secretive work. This work was allegedly halted only after the
first groups to go in were killed by the Polish Communist/Russian authorities.
I have to stress that there is
no solid evidence for this idea but there is a lot of circumstantial evidence
to back it up. A significant number of
Polish airmen were recruited by the American OSS, who were the immediate
predecessors of the CIA, to recruit deniable agents for espionage purposes in
Albania and other Central European countries under the code name OBOPUS-BGFIEND
and with help from MI6 under the code name VALUABLE.
Other agents were parachuted
into Poland in small numbers by the Americans - again using Poles for
deniability. The British authorities had
an ongoing agent insertion programme right up until 1955 when it was stopped
because too many agents were being caught or killed as the scheme was
compromised. This was done by sea, using
an ex-Kriegsmarine E-Boat with enhanced radio communications and long range
fuel tanks and crewed by former German naval crews under the guise of fishery
protection.
Interestingly, one of the CIA
pilots was Stanislaw Jozefiak who was in 304 Squadron at the same time as
Mieczyslaw Szklarski. The rates of pay
for these agents was also a long way above what they could earn in a normal job
at the time.
This is a matter for
speculation only, as it is very unlikely that the records will be released in
the lifetimes of these men or their children.
A large percentage of the MI6 records of the time were destroyed in a
fire and the rest are liable to be buried indefinitely in the "National
interest". It is also interesting
that the Soviet Bloc was very well informed in advance of all these activities
and a prominent diplomat in this area was one Kim Philby.
During the course of his military service he
received gallantry and campaign medals from Poland and campaign medals from
Great Britain and France.
Mieczyslaw's array of medals
Mieczyslaw left all forms of
public service in 1948 and registered as an alien on 3rd January 1949. This meant that he was obliged to regularly
report to the Police and could not set up in business or work other than as an
employee without the express permission of the Home Office until he received,
on 1st February 1951, his British Citizenship and Naturalisation Certificate No
BNA 17531 under his adopted name of Scot.
Typical pages from the Aliens Registration Book
He worked sporadically as a dental mechanic
for a variety of dentists in Hertfordshire, Blackpool, Kendal and Windermere
until the mid-1950s when he went to work for Duple the coach builders at Marton, Blackpool. He worked mainly on the production line and then as an Inspector for his last few years there until his retirement in about 1978. He
was also employed on one of the pleasure steamers on Lake Windermere. He died on 15th October 1986 in
Blackpool and is buried in Carleton Cemetery.
What follows is a selection of his personal documentation recording his military life. They do not necessarily fit in to specific sections of this text but record major milestones in his life:
Final Record from the Polish Air Force
Polish Air Force Certificate of Honour
Certificate of Demobilisation from l'Armee de l'Air
Reverse of previous document. Note
the rubber stamp which denies him the
right to live in France and the right to a
French Ration Card
Certificate of Admission into the Polish Resettlement Corps
Testimonial in support of his Naturalisation
Grant of Citizenship 1951 - also rescinds
his need to remain as a Registered Alien
With many thanks to Kevin Scot (Szklarski) for the unprecedented use of his family archive and incredible collection of photographs.
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