God, Honour and Country

Stanislaw Jozefiak escaped from Poland in 1939, travelling via Romania, Turkey, Greece, Eygpt and France to England. Arriving in 1940 as a member of the Polish Airforce, he continued his training and joined 304 Squadron as a WOP/AG in 1941. Shortly after he was forced to bail out of his damaged Wellington after a mission to Boulogne, landing near Tunbridge Wells. Badly wounded, his recuperation took nine months. 4 of his crew were killed, with only one other member, Sgt Nilski, surviving.

He returned to 304 Squadron, and continued with missions to places such as Essen, Cologne, Lubeck and St Nazaire. in May 1942, his squadron was transferred to RAF Coastal Command, patrolling the Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay for U-boats. In March 1943 he received the Virtuti Militari and during his career received the Krzyz Waleczny (Cross of Valour) four times.

In July 1943 he started training as a pilot, and in 1945 was posted to 317 Squadron, flying Spitfires. Very shortly after this, the war ended in Europe, although he continued to serve for a number of years.

This book provides substantial information on Stanislaw Jozefiak's service with the Polish Airforce, and this certainly makes the book work reading. There is also a fair amount of information on his post war experiences, which may not be of great interest to all readers, although his perspective on the changes in post-Cold War Poland make for interesting reading.

Available:
Believed to be out of print.
Amazon

Further reading:
Polish Air Force Operations Books: 304 Squadron
History of 304 Squadron