Waclaw was born to Jozef and Malwina (nee Nielubowicz) on 17 February 1922 in Kobylaki, near Wolkowysk, Bialystok province, eastern Poland. His siblings were: Jadwiga, Mieczyslaw, Teresa, Janina, and Bolesław.

 

On 10 February 1940, the family was awoken in the middle of the night. They were given two hours to pack a few items/personal belongings, and then were taken by horse-drawn sleighs to the train station. On route they noticed that people in other homes were being treated in the same manner as they were. The train boxcars contained three layers of bunk beds on each side, no bathroom (a hole in floor served that purpose), no heat, and the windows were boarded up. They travelled day and night to reach their destination camp. Once there, Jozef Matias was arrested and placed in jail because of his position with Polish Forestry. Waclaw was sent to the logging camp. The rest of the family was housed in barracks made of logs. The camp was in no man’s land; there was no place to escape to. Waclaw’s brother Mieczyslaw was allowed to visit him in the logging camp.

 

In the spring of 1942 amnesty was announced. Waclaw was first to leave to join the army. His father was released from prison and joined the newly formed Polish army under General Anders. His brother Boleslaw died on the train from Russia to Uzbekistan in 1942, as the family made their way south.

 

Waclaw met up with his father in Iran where he joined the Polish 2nd Corps on 11 August 1942. Waclaw was trained in Palestine and in Egypt with the 22nd Rifle Battalion and was later assigned to the 21st Regiment where he served in communications. From 1943, he served as a gunner with the 8th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, and he drove reconnaissance on a motorcycle as well as driving officers around in the sidecar of the motorcycle. He participated in the battles of the Italian Campaign, including Monte Cassino.

 

Travelling in a motorcycle sidecar, going up the hill at Monte Cassino, a bomb landed in front of him, blowing him and the motorcycle onto a tree on the side of the mountain. He hung there for two days with broken legs before he was rescued. His wounds never healed properly. He had sores on his legs until the day he died.

 

Waclaw’s father Jozef was the first to arrive in England and then was discharged. Waclaw followed in 1946. In 1947, Waclaw was assigned to the Polish Resettlement Corps and was discharged on 11 June 1947. It was in England that the family name ‘Matjas’ was changed to ‘Matias’. Waclaw and his father awaited the arrival from India of Mieczyslaw, his mother, and his sisters. Waclaw was given the option to emigrate to Canada under a two-year work contract. On 1 November 1947, he left Witley Camp in Surrey, England, and headed for Canada.

 

Waclaw was awarded the following medals:

Polish Medals:

• Cross of Merit with swords

• Army Medal

• Monte Cassino Cross

British Medals:

• 1939-1945 Star

• Italy Star

• Defence Medal

• War Medal 1939-1945

 

In Canada he worked on a farm near Ingersoll, Ontario for 2 years. He had a fantastic experience there. The farmer Waclaw was assigned to treated him with respect, and he enjoyed the work on the tobacco farm. He drove tractor and was a mechanic working on all the farm machinery. At the end of the contract, the farmer offered Waclaw land to stay on and farm with him.

 

Waclaw moved to London, Ontario and started working for Aboutown Taxi Service in which he later owned shares. Every Saturday night he would pick up other Polish boys who were still working on farm contracts and bring them to the Polish Hall on Hill Street to have a Polish meal and a few drinks. It was like being back in Poland and it brought them together. It was on one of these Saturday nights that he met his future wife, Maria Dynarek.

 

Waclaw drove a taxi from 1949-1955 including the cross border runs from London to Detroit. He then went to work at Canada Calver, operating heavy equipment for making steel and concrete tubes for sewage. Later he worked at the Teacher’s College in the maintenance department looking after the boilers and assisting in janitorial work. Waclaw took courses and became a stationary engineer, fourth and third class. He worked at Althouse, Eldon College, and at the Weldon Library, where he submitted the paperwork for his retirement, but he passed away before it was approved He was only 59 years old.

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Copyright: Matias family

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