Jozef Ralcewicz

Jozef was born on15 January 1925 at Zubielewicze, Lachowicze, district of Baranowicze, county of Nowogródek, Poland. In 1939, he was deported to Siberia from Tocin, Holowicze when the Soviet Union occupied Poland. He was sent to a labour camp in the former U.S.S.R.

When ‘amnesty’ was declared for all Polish prisoners in the USSR, Jozef travelled south to join the Polish armed forces that were assembling there. He enlisted in the Polish army on May 24, 1942. He evacuated to Persia (now Iran) and was sent to Palestine where he was transferred to 8 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment of the Polish 2nd Corps. He saw action in the Italian Campaign on the rivers Sangro and Rapido, Battle for Monte Cassino, Battle for Ancona, Northern Apennines, river Senio and Battle for Bologna. His exemplary service earned him a Monte Cassino Cross and an Italy Star.

After the Second World War, Jozef emigrated to Canada and settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he met his wife Janina and started a family. He began his work life in the logging industry in Northwestern Ontario, worked at Victoria Leather and performed track maintenance for Canadian National Railway, eventually becoming a custodian for the Winnipeg School Division One until his retirement in June of 1990.

Jozef passed away in Winnipeg on 1 Feb 2019, at the age of 94 years. He was buried at Holy Ghost Cemetery.