Józef was born on 16 September 1925 in Radoszyce, Poland. He was the second child of Józef and Lucyna (née Grabsk), and had four siblings, two sisters and two brothers. His father was in the Police force in Starachowice, then was transferred to Niekłań. His salary was modest, about a hundred złoty, and they had five children, so life was difficult for the family.

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Józef had completed 7 grades of primary school when the war broke out. In September 1939, he left home to visit his uncle in Lwow. As a teenager, he survived the siege of Lwow and the Soviet occupation. In 1942, he was deported to Germany for forced labor. After his escape in the autumn of 1944, he reached Italy, where he joined the Polish 2nd Corps and was trained as part of a tank crew.

The ability to do the work of each member of the five-man crew of the Sherman tank increased their chances in combat. Each crew member is trained in the duties of their colleagues so that if one is killed or wounded, they can quickly take over. Józef trained as a driver, radio operator, heavy machine gun operator, and shell loader.

He took part in the battles on the Pad River. After the war, he helped build the Polish war cemeteries in Loretto and Monte Cassino.
 

Józef received the British 1939-1945 War Medal, the 4 Pulk Pancerny Badge, the 2nd Armoured Division Badge, and the 2nd Corps Badge.

He then arrived in Liverpool with the rest of his colleagues. He planned to go to Australia or America because of his fear of repression by the ruling communists in Poland. After the death of his younger brother, he returned to Poland at the request of his mother. He was badly treated by the UB (Security Office) and there was never a good job or a place in a sanatorium for him.

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Józef Skrzynecki passed away in Łódź on 11 December 2025 at the age of 100.

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Source: Several online posts

 

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Note: Many online articles (and interviews with Jozef) mention his participation in the Battle of Monte Cassno, but this was impossible

as he did not escape from forced labour in Germany until the fall of

1944 – months after that battle had been waged. In one interview,

Jozef even says that he joined the 2nd Corps in the USSR and

trained as a driver of military vehicles in the Middle East, yet his

document shows that this license was issued to him on the 5th of

November 1945. Perhaps his advanced age at the time of the

interview is responsible for his confusion as to his own history.

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