The great service of Sgt Krupa RIP ended on 19th November 2019 at the age of 98 – what a great age! The funeral service took place on 10th December at Southwell Methodist Church. During the funeral services, Tomasz Wisniewski (The President of the Polish Association in the UK) represented the Polish authorities and the Royal British Legion Veterans. He passed on the message and talked about RIP Sgt Krupa with The Polish Embassy in London and in The Polish Consulate Office in Manchester as well as to the Army Attaché.

Sgt Czesław Krupa was decorated by the British authorities: „The Air Crew Europe Star”. This medal was awarded to Commonwealth aircrew who participated in operational flights over Europe, from UK bases or for operational flying from the UK over Europe. ‘War Medal’ 1939-45″ – This medal was awarded to all full-time service personnel, „1939-45 Star” – For operational Service in the Second World War between 3rd September 1939, and 2nd September 1945.

He also received a memorial scroll. 

The subject of World War II was not spoken of often in the Krupa family, as Czesław did not want to burden his young children with his bad memories of those terrible times. However, what follows is his story as it was told in his later years to his two sons and his grandchildren. 

Czesław was born and brought up in Chrzanów in Poland to Antoni and Julia. His dad was a shoemaker and they lived in a one room house. “Ted” (this is what he was called by family and friends in the UK) told of how his father had to make 6 pairs of shoes a day and he would often come home to help his father make the last pair of shoes each day. 

In the run up to WWII he joined the Polish Air Force cadets and did his pilot training, studying at the „Centrum Wyszkolenia Lotnictwa nr 1” (The Air Forces Training Centrum no 1) in Dęblin.  However, this training was never completed as the base he was serving on was attacked and the Polish planes were still on the runway, where they were destroyed by the German air force. He tells of how he dived into the half-dug trench when the rear gunner of the German plane went past. They looked briefly eye to eye and for some reason the gunner chose not to shoot him.

He left Poland and journeyed with his entire company across Europe, through Athens and on to France, wanting to join the allied air forces to fight Germans. He finally made it to the UK, firstly to Canvey Island and later to Blackpool, before eventually joining the RAF in Lincolnshire. 

Sgt Czesław Krupa was an air gunner and a radio-telegraphist in RAF Squadron 305. His plane, Wellington II SM-N (W5567) was shot down while bombing Lubeck in Germany on the night of 28th-29th March 1942. All crew members parachuted out and survived but they were quickly captured. They were interned in the Stalag Luft III prison camp in Żagań for about 3 years. 

After evacuation of the prison camp in January 1945, Czesław tells of how, when Germans were defeated, the POWs walked towards the west, hoping to be liberated by the Western Allies rather than the Russians in the East. When he was liberated, he had the choice of returning to Poland or going back to the Britain. He chose Britain. He took an HND in Electrical Engineering in Birmingham and became a Chartered Electrical Engineer, and, after working in various power stations around the country, he eventually settled in Nottinghamshire.  

These power stations included Kingston in London, and then in the 1950s Czesław found himself in the Scarborough area, where he met his future wife, Constance (“Connie”). There’s a wonderful story here too. It all came about when a Polish trawler man was taken ill and brought to the hospital in Scarborough, where Connie was a nurse. The message went out to anyone who might be able to help as an interpreter for this Polish trawler man and Ted responded. He came to the hospital to interpret, he met Connie and the rest is history!

His work took him, and Connie, to York where his son Tony was born and then to Staythorpe in Nottinghamshire, where Steve was born, while they were living in nearby Newark. They finally settled in Southwell.

He was a good husband to his wife and a good father to his two sons. He loved walking, particularly in Clumber and Rufford parks, as well as locally around Southwell, which he continued to do until a very advanced age. He loved camping holidays in Wales and Scotland and he particularly liked mountains.

He was independent-minded and liked to be able to depend on his own abilities in any situation. He made much of the furniture, such as shelving and fitted wardrobes, in his house and this lasted until the house was sold many years later. His practical abilities led him to be the one who fixed all the neighbours’ cars whenever they had problems. He was a perfectionist who believed that if a job was worth doing, it was worth doing properly. Perhaps that was an engineer in him. 

He was a real well-educated gentleman. He had a lovely smile (even when his teeth fell out, I’m told!) He dressed smartly – his top button always done up and a jacket and tie on whenever he could! He liked gardening and reading, and old westerns with John Wayne in particular.

During his later years in Southwell Court Care Home, he suffered from Dementia but was still able to recognise a picture (found in the Berlin Archives) of the very plane that he had flown and crashed in. It had landed by itself in a field in Northern Germany and survived the crash more or less intact.

 To the last of his days, he was strong and in very good physical condition and there was something of the Polish soldier in him to the end. One Remembrance Sunday, while watching the two-minute silence on television during the commemoration, he stood up of his own volition, took Margaret, the manager’s hand, and told her, “Don’t worry – we’ll protect you.”

I have to say, that Czesław was a Polish soldier until the last day of his life. I get the impression goodness and mercy have followed him all the days of his life! But also, because it speaks of God is protecting us, much as Czesław wanted to protect others for the whole of his life.

Author and pictures: Tomasz Wiśniewski