Last Polish pilot from the Battle of Britain dies age 97



Brigadier General Tadeusz Sawicz, who

has died at the age of 97, is believed

to have been the last surviving Polish

pilot from the Battle of Britain

The End of an era  -  The last Polish pilot from the Battle of Britain dies

--- Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by Britain

--- Betrayed by both Britain and the USA when Poland was given as a "gift" to Comrade Stalin.


A World War Two airman, believed to be the last surviving Polish pilot from the Battle of Britain, has died at the age of 97.

Brigadier General Tadeusz Sawicz, credited with shooting down three German aircraft and much decorated for his valour, died on October 19 at a nursing home in Toronto, Canada, reports the UK Daily Mail.

He is believed to be the last surviving pilot from the Polish Air Forces in Britain during World War Two. He fought in the 1940 Battle of Britain and served with the RAF  until early 1947.

A spokesman for the RAF paid tribute, saying: 'There is widespread admiration for the major contribution that the Polish aircrew made to the Allied victory in World War Two and their commitment in the face of significant losses, especially those who so bravely fought in the Battle of Britain.
'Their vital contributions will be long remembered.'

Historian Adam Zamoyski — author of 'The Forgotten Few: The Polish Air Force in the Second World War' — told reporters that if Sawicz were the last surviving Polish pilot from the 1940 battle it would bring an important chapter to a close.

When war broke out in 1939 Sawicz fought in Poland's air defense against the invading Germans. At one point, he flew under German fire to carry orders to troops defending Warsaw.

Fighter aircraft in London's Horse Guards parade to mark the Battle Of Britain Anniversary in 1953

Following the collapse of the city's defense on September 17, he joined Polish pilots fighting in France.

After the surrender of Paris in July 1940 he made his way — along with tens of thousands of Polish airmen, soldiers and sailors — to Britain, where they made up the largest foreign military force in the country.

Mr Zamoyski said that some 17,000 Poles — pilots, mechanics and ground staff — served in the Polish air force in Britain at the time.

In the summer of 1940, General Wladyslaw Sikorski — the head of Poland's Government in Exile in London — signed an agreement to form a Polish Air Force in Britain.

After training on Hurricane fighter aircraft, Sawicz was incorporated into RAF Polish squadron 303 and later into squadrons 316 and 315.
On and off, he served as a commander of the Polish wing.

Sawicz was among the 145 Polish pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain, 31 of whom died in action, and is credited with shooting down three German aircraft.

He was awarded Poland's highest military order - the Virtuti Military medal - and was also given the Distinguished Flying Cross by Britain, the United States and the Netherlands.

In thanks: The Polish War Memorial at Northolt in west London was dedicated in 1948

The Battle of Britain pilots became known collectively as 'The Few' after Winston Churchill said of them: 'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.'

Sawicz is survived by his wife Jadwiga.  A service is planned for him at a later date in Warsaw.

No good deed goes un-punished.
Both Britain and the United States betrayed their own ally Poland and agreed to give away huge parts of the country to Russia.  In addition it was agreed that Poland could become a Communist dictatorship and colony of the Soviet Union.

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