Wladyslaw Najduch was born 27 November 1920 in Bialkrynica, Tarnopol province, Poland. He was the second youngest of 10 children born to Anna and John.

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Wladyslaw was called up to serve in the military at the onset of WW2. He fought in the September Campaign and was later captured by the Russians and sent to a labour camp in Siberia.

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In June 1941, Germany turned on its ally, Russia. Stalin then quickly changed tactics and allied himself with the west so that the allies could help him defeat the Germans. This led to the signing of the Sikorski-Majewski agreement that called for the freeing of Poles imprisoned in POW camps and labour camps in the USSR, and the formation of a Polish Army in the southern USSR.

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The news of this ‘amnesty’ did not reach every camp, but where it did become known, the men and boys soon made plans to make their way south to join the army. For most, this meant walking thousands of kilometers and only occasionally getting on a train for part of the journey.  Many did not make it, and those who did were emaciated skeletons by the time they got there. The women and children who followed later, encountered the same difficulties on their journey south.

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General Anders was in charge of the army, and he tried hard to get the Russians to provide the food and equipment they had promised. When this became more and more impossible, he negotiated the right to evacuate the army to Persia, where the British would provide what was needed.

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Anders insisted on taking as many of the civilians that had reached the army as possible. There were 2 mass evacuations: in March/April 1942, and in September 1942. Then Stalin changed his mind and closed the borders. Those who had not been evacuated were now stuck in the USSR.

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The evacuation took place by ship over the Caspian Sea to Pahlavi in Persia (now Iran). The ships that were used were oil tankers and coal ships, and other ships that were not equipped to handle passengers. They were filthy and lacked even the basic necessities, like water and latrines. The soldiers and civilians filled these ships to capacity for the 1-2 day trip. When there were storms, the situation got even worse – with most of the passengers suffering sea sickness.

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Wladyslaw was part of the evacuation to Persia, where he joined the Polish 2nd Corps. He served in the Middle East and in the Italian campaign.

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After the war ended Wladyslaw remained in Italy until 1946 when the army was moved to England. He emigrated to Canada on a two-year contract that brought him to farms in Saskatchewan and then Manitoba.

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In 1949, Wladyslaw became an employee of the Canadian National Railway at the Transcona Shops, where he worked for 36 years, retiring in 1985. In 1951, Wladyslaw married Jenny Malmas and was adopted by the Malmas family of Meadows, MB. Jenny and Walter raised three children and had over 51 wonderful years together.

Wladyslaw passed away in Winnipeg on 7 April 2003 at the age of 82 years. He was buried at the Brookside Cemetery.​​​