jaox
2 Jan 2011
Genealogy / Does anyone have any relatives who served with 1st Polish Armoured Division (Gen. Maczek) [310]
Peter Apr 20, 08, 12:45 / #9
Well that's interesting. My father was at the University of Lwow in 39 and escaped through Romania. What happened in between has always been a mystery. You can PM me.
i posted previously about my grandfather, Henryk Sadowski, and with regard to the escape from Poland this was my grandfathers story.
He too passed through Lvov, in the Ukraine, but then went through Romania and passed through Ploesti, Bucarest and ended up in the port of Constanta. Along the way to Constanta he had help from generous Romanians and also local Jews who provided food and accommodation. In Constanta he got a ship which headed through the Bosphorus Straight (Turkey) and into the Aegean Sea. When they arrived at Crete the ship had a British naval escort to Malta and from there the ship sailed to Marseille, France.
In France my grandfather made his way north to try reach a northern French port for a ship to England. However, I know for certain that this took some time as on Christmas Eve 1939 my grandfather, Henryk Sadowski, was in Paris and weighed himself (!) I still have the stub from that day.
The northern french port my grandfather disembarked from was St. Nazaire and from there he sailed for Plymouth, England. On arrival at Plymouth there seems to have been some kind of military or humanitarian aid as he was given a cup of tea and a jar of marmalade. According to my grandfather the Poles were then told to get back on the boat and they headed back to France.
I'm afraid I cannot add much to this part of his story; what he did when he got back to France, where he went and when he returned to England suffice to say it was after Dunkirk (June 1940).
My grandfather was in the artillery division and was stationed at a place called Craig, near Ferryden close to Montrose and in Montrose he met my grandmother.
This is a long shot: anyone here with the Polish surname Pockhart? (Spelling is probably wrong).
Hope this information is of interest
Peter Apr 20, 08, 12:45 / #9
Well that's interesting. My father was at the University of Lwow in 39 and escaped through Romania. What happened in between has always been a mystery. You can PM me.
i posted previously about my grandfather, Henryk Sadowski, and with regard to the escape from Poland this was my grandfathers story.
He too passed through Lvov, in the Ukraine, but then went through Romania and passed through Ploesti, Bucarest and ended up in the port of Constanta. Along the way to Constanta he had help from generous Romanians and also local Jews who provided food and accommodation. In Constanta he got a ship which headed through the Bosphorus Straight (Turkey) and into the Aegean Sea. When they arrived at Crete the ship had a British naval escort to Malta and from there the ship sailed to Marseille, France.
In France my grandfather made his way north to try reach a northern French port for a ship to England. However, I know for certain that this took some time as on Christmas Eve 1939 my grandfather, Henryk Sadowski, was in Paris and weighed himself (!) I still have the stub from that day.
The northern french port my grandfather disembarked from was St. Nazaire and from there he sailed for Plymouth, England. On arrival at Plymouth there seems to have been some kind of military or humanitarian aid as he was given a cup of tea and a jar of marmalade. According to my grandfather the Poles were then told to get back on the boat and they headed back to France.
I'm afraid I cannot add much to this part of his story; what he did when he got back to France, where he went and when he returned to England suffice to say it was after Dunkirk (June 1940).
My grandfather was in the artillery division and was stationed at a place called Craig, near Ferryden close to Montrose and in Montrose he met my grandmother.
This is a long shot: anyone here with the Polish surname Pockhart? (Spelling is probably wrong).
Hope this information is of interest