Leopold MAJCHERCZYK
1st Polish Armoured Division
1st Polish Armoured Tank Regiment
The soldier in profile on the right may be Leopold. The soldiers are wearing Polish uniforms that were used in 1939. Since Leopold was born in 1915, he was the right age to have been drafted into the army in Poland prior to the onset of WW2.
Leopold would have participated in the September Campaign in Poland, after which he was captured by the Russians and sent to a POW camp in Siberia. When Sikorski negotiated the release of all Poles being held in the USSR, Leopold made his way to the southern USSR to join the Polish army being formed there (commonly referred to as Anders' Army). He was assigned to the 14th Armoured Regiment of the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Brigade. After evacuating from the USSR, he trained in the Middle East and then participated in the Battle of Tobruk in northern Africa.
Sometime after the battle of Tobruk, he was re-assigned to the 1st Polish Armoured Division (1PAD) under General Maczek, and was sent to Scotland where the Division was training. His previous experience in a tank regiment nade him a perfect fit to join 1PAD.
These are Leopold's souvenirs from his time in the 1st Polish Armoured Division: the shoulder patch, a uniform button, a watch, a 2nd Lieutenant's shoulder pip, the cap eagle, and a bracelet.
General Sikorski at the 1st Armoured Division base in Scotland.
The location of the following pictures is unknown
Photo from Belgium
Photos from Holland
This next photo may be in Germany during the occupation by the 1st Polish Armoured Division within the British Zone. The 1PAD was one of the occupying forces from 1945 to 1947. Leopold is the one on the right.
Several ships brought the soldiers of the 1st Polish Armoured Division from Germany to the UK.
Once in the UK, Leopold and his colleagues took the train to the Polish Resettlement Camp in Wiltshire.
This is the official transfer , from the Polish army to the Polish Resettlement Corps (PRC)
Transfer to PRC effective 9 July 1947
Visiting the local sights in Wiltshire, like Stonehenge & Salisbury.
Street scenes in Salisbury, Wiltshire
Formal discharge from the forces in 1949
Leopold was awarded the Africa Star for the Battle of Tobruk in northern Africa
Leopold was awarded the France & Germany Star for the European Campaign
Letter sent to Leopold in 1951 telling him he was promoted to Lieutenant in 1946, but the army had not notified him of the fact.
Photos courtesy of Leopold's son, Andrew May.