Franciszek Szmuniewski was born on 3 April 1909 in Trzebieszow, Poland. He graduated as a sapper from the Central Military Academy in Lukow in 1933. As Warrant Officer First Class, he was a sapper - an elite combat engineer - skilled in a variety of military duties, such as, laying of minefields and clearing them, demolition, field defences, road, bridge and airfield construction.

 

On 1 September 1939, Poland was invaded by the Germans and not long after, both my father and my mother subsequently ended up in Siberia as Russia invaded from the East. Franciszek was captured by the Russians and transported to the very north of Russia, to a place called Archangelsk.

 

His wife, when the fatal knock came on the door in the night, was transported to some unknown work camp in the depths of Siberia. They both experienced unfathomable hardships, starvation, hard work, ferocious winds and deadly blizzards but …they survived.

 

On 22 June 1941, Nazi Germany attacked Soviet Russia. This event prompted an agreement that was signed by General Sikorski and Stalin, the basis of which proclaimed that amnesty would be granted for Polish soldiers interned in Siberia, if they agreed to form a Polish Army in the USSR to fight with the Allies against Hitler.

 

Through military intelligence, Franciszek found out that his wife was still alive in Siberia, so using all sorts of forged documents, he located her camp and rescued her. It was then that he found out she had been heavily pregnant when the fatal knock came on the door, the NKVD. Their son Jerzy was born in Siberia and lived until he was one year old. He died when an epidemic of cholera swept through the camp.

 

There were many routes taken by the exodus of escaping soldiers and civilians heading south to join the Allies to enlist again to form a Polish Army. Their route took them to Tashkent followed by Krasnowodsk. From there they crossed the Caspian Sea to Pahlevi in Persia, where the Allies were waiting for them.

 

By the time they got to Pahlevi they were like skeletons shrouded in rags. His wife spent some time in a field hospital to recover, and Franciszek then joined the Polish Second Corps. He trained in Iran, Iraq, Palestine and Egypt, before sailing to Italy to join the Italian Campaign. Upon recovery his wife had the option of going to Beirut, Lebanon to work for the Americans, which she did.

 

During the Italian Campaign, Franciszek was part of the 10th Battalion Sappers Corps.  He often quoted the words of General Anders that: “Without sappers we could never have conquered Monte Cassino”.

 

After the war, he explained to his family that sapper duties were very special. “You cannot be carried away by the excitement of the battlefield. You need complete concentration and internal peace of mind. Often you must act alone, recognising the danger spots that could be lurking, perhaps by a river, a road, or on a hill. One error, one loss of concentration, can mean the end for your fellow soldiers”.

 

“The militia soon began to understand the sappers! They understood that our mines and traps ensured a good night’s sleep for the infantry. We are the ones who provide the artillery with access to posts located in difficult terrain, who take apart enemy traps and clear the routes for them”.

 

Franciszek was awarded the following medals:

• Bronze Cross of Merit with swords

• Cross of Valour

• Cross of Monte Cassino

• Star of 1939-1945 War

• Star of Italy

• Polish Army medal for 1939-1945 War

• British 1939-1945 War medal

 

 

Franciszek never returned to his beloved Poland. He died in 1991, and his ashes are buried in Leek cemetery in the UK.

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Copyright: Szmuniewski family​​

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