The text has been transcribed without modifications. I made minor punctuation corrections to improve readability. I also reorganized the dates by dividing them into years. You can view the scan of the diary here.
Maciej Czerwonka
The following entry appears on the first page:
I begin writing this diary on the hospitable English soil, in one of the Polish squadrons at R.A.F. Station Hemswell.
| ~ 1939 ~ | |
| August 21 | The squadron leaves the Kraków airfield for “Klimontów”. |
| September 1 | Outbreak of the “Polish-German” war. |
| September 3 | England and France join the war. |
| September 4 | Change of airfield. |
| September 9 | Change of airfield to the vicinity of “Lublin”. |
| September 12 | I experience my first bombing in “Włodzimierz”. |
| September 17 | The last operational airfield in Volhynia. |
| September 18 | I retreat to the border by car. With me are: Słupczyński, Mandowski, Kapcia, and two reservists. |
| September 20 | At 6 a.m., we have a skirmish with Ukrainians along with the police. One policeman on our side is killed. |
| September 20 | Before noon. Hungry and sleep-deprived, as I haven’t had a hot meal for three days, living off apples and water, I enter “Stanisławów”. I stop the car to buy something to eat. At that moment, the car is surrounded by armed Ukrainians. One of them tries to disarm me, saying, “you bastard, you still want to fight, Poland is no more,” and points a revolver at my chest. He doesn’t shoot because my colleagues already have him in their sights with their rifles. Holding my rifle, I jump onto the car step and order the driver to move. We’d rather die than be disarmed. We drive straight into the crowd. The Ukrainians, fearing they might shoot their own people, don’t fire because we are mixed in with the crowd. Oh, how I wish we had a few grenades. We could have easily dispersed this mob. But thanks to the driver, Słupczyński, we quickly drove through the city, and the Ukrainians didn’t have time to chase us. We continue our route towards Horodenka, heading for the Romanian border. When we are 50 km away, we learn that the Romanian border is closed. We decide to head to the Hungarian border as the Bolsheviks are approaching from the Romanian border. On the way to Hungary, we meet many soldiers heading in the same direction, aiming to re-equip with English gear and then return to Poland. I never imagined then that I might be leaving my homeland forever. |
| September 22 | I am in the “Tatar” pass, still hungry and exhausted to the limit. Here, the two reservists return to Poland. Near the border, I spend my 20th night under the open sky, breathing our beloved Polish air for the last time in the Polish-German campaign. |
| September 23 | I cross the border with the song “Poland has not yet perished” on my lips and tears in my eyes, with a fairly large group of unfortunates like myself. I travel through Hungarian land with friends and a Polish car, which performed excellently until I had to hand it over to the Hungarian authorities. I continue my journey by train to Nagykálló near Budapest. There we are locked in a camp, sleeping on the floor on a handful of straw and receiving 2 pengo for 10 days. I am lucky because I soon learn, of course in secret, that I will have the opportunity to escape the camp and get to the Polish military camp in France. |
| October 8 | I swear to defend the Polish cause to my last drop of blood in one of the Nagykálló forests. Everything is done secretly because there are many German agents among our refugee camp. |
| October 10 | I escape from the internment camp in worker’s clothes and get to Budapest. There, I am taken under the care of the Polish consulate, from where I receive an assignment to the 1st Maritime Bomb Squadron in Trieste. |
| October 12 | I receive a passport and head to Trieste. |
| October 14 | I am in Trieste as a crew member of a three-engine Cant, along with a few friends. The squadron commander is Captain Baczyński, deputy Captain Waciąga, and Lieutenant Sokołowski, chief Sergeant Witas. We are waiting for permission to depart for Great Britain. I stay at the Franz Narobe Albegro Ristorante Grignano hotel near Trieste. I stay there for about three months. I receive my first letter from home on December 8 and the second the day before my departure, January 11, 1940. The Italian government does not agree to our departure, and fearing re-internment, we leave for France. |
| ~ 1940 ~ | |
| January 12 | I cross the French border in Modane and head to Paris. After getting my documents and a short rest, during which I partly explored Paris, or rather its sights, like the Eiffel Tower, the Grand Theatre, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where I also read the names of Napoleon’s battlefields, including many Polish city names. |
| January 14 | I arrive in England. Traveling from Paris to Cherbourg by train and then by ship to Southampton port, escorted by two cruisers. From Southampton, I go to London. I stay there until February 14, 1940. |
| February 14 | I am assigned to the Polish camp in Eastchurch. Here, I am examined and deemed fit for air service. I also complete ground training as a radio operator there. |
| February 14 | Immediately upon arrival in Eastchurch, I swore allegiance to the King of England. |
| May 30 | Our camp is moved to Blackpool, the so-called Polish Air Force Center C.P.L. However, I do not attend lectures there because I completed my training in Eastchurch. In Blackpool, I stay with Mrs. Alker, 14 Kirby Road. Later, I am moved to Rigby Road. In Blackpool, I learn English fairly well. |
| August 6 | I am recommended for an air gunner course in West Freugh, Scotland. I fly on a Battle type aircraft there. I complete the course satisfactorily (above average pupil). Civilian instructor Mr. Makay. |
| October 8 | I am transferred to an airborne radio operator course. I fly on an Anson and then on a Battle. I complete this course relatively quickly and then am sent as an instructor to the 304-305 bomber squadrons in Bramcote. |
| November 12 | I am transferred to Bramcote as previously mentioned. After both squadrons leave, I become an instructor at the 18th O.T.U. Bramcote, which is being formed here in the meantime. I am assigned to Flt. B. The commander is S/LDR KNIGHT. My colleagues with me are Baracz, Zwolski, Lewoniec, Bala, and Jachna. The latter has been with me since leaving the camp. He also formed the first crew. This crew crashed into balloons in Crewe, and all were killed. Later, Zwolski had an accident and burned with the aircraft during night flights. There is also an air gunner, Gaik, from the 24th Reconnaissance Squadron Karasi from Poland. Later, Baracz is transferred to Flt. “A”, Lewoniec to the 305th squadron, where he jumps into the water with a parachute during an operational flight and drowns. His body is washed ashore. Bala becomes a ground instructor. So in Flt. “B” I am the only Pole among the English. We have a lot of work because the weather is beautiful and there are many crews to train. I don’t shy away from flying and even enjoy it very much, trying to give my students everything I can. I learn the equipment myself as there is no instructor here who could explain the use of new equipment. However, I soon master the entire Wellington. I know what is for what and then learn the new Marconi station. |
| ~ 1941 ~ | |
| March 1 | I am promoted to sergeant. There is a change of commander in the Flight, namely S/LDR Roveroni arrives. The English instructors are: Newby, Newson, Beagles, FISHER, from the New Zealanders Reed, Shipport, sgt. Weate (or Neate), from the officers Lieutenant Żórawski observer, Jaroński observer, Pipkin observer, Morton pilot, Chutehings pilot. |
| June 1 | I apply for transfer to a bomber squadron. |
| August 15 | I am transferred to the 301 bomber squadron in Hemswell. Flt. “A” squadron commander Major Piotrowski, flight commander Captain Krzystyniak. I receive my first crew consisting of Lieutenant Śliwiński pilot, Lieutenant Rzemyk pilot, Sergeant Zawadny front gunner, Sergeant Błach rear gunner. |
| September 13 Altitude: 18.000 FT | My first flight to Brest on the battleships Gneisenau and Scharnhorst. I am curious about how this war looks because it is my first flight. Over the target, I see strong German searchlights for the first time and hundreds of German anti-aircraft shells. I especially like the low artillery firing colorful shells. It all looks like St. John’s night, but God forbid getting into it because the machine and the people would most likely be turned into a sieve. On the way back, I have a problem with the radio, but thanks to God’s help, I manage to fix the error, and the radio station continues to work. After landing, it turns out that the converter was malfunctioning. |
| October 12 Altitude: 20.000 FT | My second flight is to Bremen, a target that has claimed the most of my comrades. |
| Alt. 17.000 FT | The third flight is also to Bremen, and during this mission, we lose a crew consisting of: Sergeant Cielak (pilot), Stalewski (operator), Młodzik (front gunner), Kleberg (rear gunner), Borodej (pilot). I am awarded the Cross of Valor for the first time. |
| ~ 1942 ~ | |
| Altitude: 10.000 FT | My fourth flight is to Cologne. I fly with the station commander, and the cloud cover is 10/10, making navigation very difficult, worsened by the wind being 30 miles stronger. However, we return and land safely at the base. Over the target, we were at 10,000 feet. |
| Altitude: 7.000 FT | The fifth flight is to the battleships Gneisenau, Scharnhorst, and Prinz Eugen, which had sailed from Brest. We take off at 1 PM. The target cannot be found because the clouds reach almost to the sea level. We drop our bombs where the artillery shells are landing. In this raid, the British lose 42 aircraft. |
| Altitude: 12.000 FT | The sixth flight is to the Bremen-Hamburg area. On the return, we encounter a magnetic storm that causes the compass to give incorrect readings, leading us almost to the north of Scotland instead of our base. However, thanks to the cooperation of the radio operator and pilot, Major Krzystyniak, we reach the base after a seven-hour flight. |
| February 25 | The mission is to bomb the port of Kiel. We lose one crew: Lieutenant Jabłoński (pilot), Lieutenant Kozieł (pilot), Captain Frugiel (operator), Sergeant Droździk (radio operator), Sergeant Bujak (gunner), and Sergeant Dolata (gunner). Currently, my crew consists of: Lieutenant Rzemyk (pilot), Lieutenant Pławski (pilot), Lieutenant Wybraniec (observer), Sergeant Podgórski (gunner), and Sergeant Radecki (gunner). |