Mieczysław Pawlikowski was a Polish military pilot, actor, writer and poet, born on 9 January 1920 in Żytomierz. He is widely known for his film portrayal of Jan Zagłoba from Henryk Sienkiewicz’s Trilogy. But few people realise that, in addition to being a highly regarded actor, Pawlikowski served during the war as a bomber crew member in Polish Squadron 300 and Squadron 301. In total he flew 29 combat missions and on multiple occasions flew over Poland dropping Cichociemni paratroopers (the elite Polish paratroopers of the Special Operations Executive).

In November 1939 Pawlikowski made his way to France, where he volunteered at the Lyon-Bron air base. In March he went on to England, where he served in the 300 “Ziemi Mazowieckiej” Bomber Squadron and the 301 “Ziemi Pomorskiej” Bomber Squadron. On the Halifax NF-J (“Janka”) bomber he completed 24 missions, including supply drops of weapons and medicine to the resistance. On his 25th sortie over southern France, Pawlikowski’s bomber was hit and forced to make an emergency landing. The surviving crew trekked on foot through Andorra and Spain to Gibraltar and after three months returned to duty.

Pawlikowski did not return to combat flights, instead becoming an instructor for bomber crews. On 1 May 1945 he was discharged from the Polish Air Force at his own request, finishing his service as a sergeant and British Warrant Officer. For his combat flights he was awarded the Cross of Valour twice.

After the war, he briefly worked with the Polish Government in London and was a narrator and announcer for Polish BBC radio broadcasts. It was there that he began his artistic career with the “Lotnicza Czołówka Teatralna” (Air Force Theatrical Troupe), which performed in camps of Polish forces in England and Scotland. Pawlikowski typically played “Wacław” in Zemsta by Aleksander Fredro.

In August 1945 he decided to return to Poland, where he became a theatre and film actor. His greatest fame came from the films Pan Wołodyjowski and Przygody Pana Michała, in which he portrayed the unforgettable Jan Onufry Zagłoba of the Wczele coat of arms.

In 1958 he published his wartime memoir Siedmiu z Halifaxa J, and twenty years later a volume of poetry Dwie tęsknoty.

Pawlikowski died in Warsaw of a heart attack on 23 December 1978 at the age of 58 and is buried at the Powązki Military Cemetery.

Natalia Jasińska