Edmund Kayser

1st Polish Armoured Division

Edmund Kayser was born on 17 November 1913 in Pobiedzisky, Poland. Between 1933-1934 he attended a forestry school in Margonin. Then, in 1935-1936, he served in the 7th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division in Poznan. After being discharged from the army, he worked as a ranger in the Miradz Forest until the outbreak of World War II.

He took part in the September 1939 Campaign, serving in the anti-aircraft artillery in Brest nad Bugiem. He evacuated to Romania and made his way to France and then to Scotland where he joined the 1st Polish Armoured Division. He served under the command of General Stanislaw Maczka on the frontline in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. He was an officer of the 1st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment in the division. From 1945-1947, he was part of the occupying forces in Germany.

Edmund was awarded:

the Polish 1939 Defence medal
the France & Germany star
the British 1939-1945 War medal

He returned to Poland in 1947 and immediately started working at the PDR Reclaimed Lands in the Kargów Riviera. In February 1950, he became Head of the State Forestry and lived in Mchy. He held this position until 1972.

From 1949 to 1956, Edmund was the object of state investigations under the case name "Repatriation". Soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces in the West returning to Poland after World War II were persecuted by the state. His case file reads: "In 1939, he was mobilized to the Polish Army. After a few days of war, he crossed the Polish-Romanian border with a detachment of soldiers, where he was interned and then evacuated to France. He joined the Polish Army in France. In 1940 he was again evacuated to England, where he was trained and held the position of reconnaissance officer. He left for the front with his unit. In the European campaign, he took part [in operations] in France, Belgium, Netherlands and in Germany as Deputy Battery Commander. "

Lieutenant Edmund Kayser died on 1 January 2003 and was buried in the parish cemetery in Puszczyków, Poland.