Witold Ferenc

Witold Ferenc was born to Tomasz and Feliksa (nee Piotrowoska) on 10 August 1919 in Szczęsnowka, Wołyn province, Poland. His siblings were: Helena, Jadwiga, Waclaw, Stanislaw, Marian, Boleslaw, Jozef, and Tadeusz.

The family (Tomasz and Feliksa along with their children Jadwiga, Wacław, Marian, Józef, Tadeusz and Witold along with Feliksa’s sister, Waleria Piotrowska) was arrested by the Russians on 10 February 1940. At the time of their deportation, they were not residing at the same location as they had their own houses and families.

The family was deported to Specposiolek Kuklovo in Archangielsk Oblast in Siberia for forced labour, which consisted of cutting down trees and sawing the logs. After the ‘amnesty’ in 1941, the family journeyed to the southern USSR to join the Polish army which was forming there, travelling from Specposiolek Kuklovo to Tockoje, Buzuluk, Guzar, Dzalal-Abad, where Wacław and Witold joined the Polish army. Waleria Piotrowska, Marian, Tadeusz and Józef Ferenc died along the way south, and Tadeusz is buried in Guzar.

What remained of the family was then evacuated with the Polish army to Pahlavi in Persia (now Iran) via Krasnowodsk and across the Caspian Sea. Witold’s father, Tomasz died in Teheran of typhus.

Witold trained in the Middle East and was a Sapper, 5th Sapper Battalion, 5th Kresowa Infantry Division, Polish 2nd Corps. He fought in the Italian Campaign, including the battles at Monte Cassino, Ancona and Bologna. He was wounded at Monte Cassino. Witold was awarded the following medals: Polish Medals: Cross of Valour, Army medal, Monte Cassino Cross, Polish Forces in the West medal. British Medals: 1939-1945 Star, Italy Star, Defence Medal, War Medal 1939-45

Witold’s brother, Wacław, was transferred to the Polish 1st Armoured Division under General Maczek. His mother Feliksa and sister Jadwiga were first sent to Karachi, India and then to Morogoro Camp in Tanzania, Africa. In 1948, Feliksa and Jadwiga joined Wacław in England.

Witold’s brother Stanisław ‘s wife and children had remained in Poland and were brutally killed by the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army) in Kisielowka. Stanisław and their sister Helena, along with Helena’s son Henryk, survived the war and were moved to the Hrubieszów area after the war. Bolesław was missing in action from the September 1939 defensive campaign.

Witold immigrated to Canada from Italy, sailing aboard the SS Sea Robin and disembarking in Halifax on 12 November 1946. From there he travelled by rail to St Thomas, Ontario, where he had agreed to work on a farm for two years in return for his passage to Canada. He completed the two-year farm contract in Walkerton. He then moved to London to find employment, and to join the larger Polish community there. He worked on construction and retired in the mid 1980s.

In 1959, Witold went to Poland and met and married Melania Kordek. Melania died April 1, 1963, and Witold remarried in 1966 to Maria Izydorczyk. He was a founding member of SPK Branch Number 2 in London and helped build the SPK Hall and the Polish Church.

Witold passed away in London, Ontario on November 25, 1993