Tad Dippel

19 marca - dzień imienin Pierwszego Marszałka Polski 𝐉𝐨́𝐳𝐞𝐟𝐚 𝐏𝐢ł𝐬𝐮𝐝𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐞𝐠𝐨. Marszałek Józef Piłsudski z córkami Wandą i Jadwigą w gabinecie przy pracy, 1926 r. WBH, Kolekcja nr 66 - Józef Piłsudski, foto. sygn. K 66-44

@Flyingarchivist @SpitfireFilly Regardless, it is a great shame and a loss to the country. Wallis was a great man and so significant in the development of aviation and aeronautical engineering.

@SpitfireFilly @flyer_2001 They were on loan from his son and daughter, both now deceased, and it seems the family asked for their return. I did at least two stock checks of the "office", frequently interrupted when the lights went down because someone started the video...

Get someone who looks at you the way I look at Barnes Wallis' marbles! (the ones owned by his daughter which he used to refine the 'bouncing bomb' for Op CHASTISE). Pop over to Denhams auction house (Horsham) on Wed 25th March to bid on the amazing Sir Barnes Wallis Collection!

I strongly recommend reading "Agent Zo" by Clare Mulley to get more information about this amazing woman.

There are battles that belong to strategy, and there are battles that belong to memory. Monte Cassino belongs to both, but to the Poles above all it became something deeper, almost sacred. It was not simply a military objective perched atop a shattered Italian mountain. It was a reckoning. By the spring of 1944, the Allies had already hurled wave after wave of men against the German defensive line anchored on the heights of Monte Cassino, and each assault had failed. The terrain itself seemed to resist conquest, steep, broken, exposed, a landscape of stone and fire where every approach was observed and every advance punished. The ruins of the ancient abbey loomed above it all, reduced to rubble yet still dominating the battlefield like a tomb that refused to close. Into this crucible came the Polish II Corps under General Władysław Anders. These were not ordinary soldiers, but men who had survived Soviet prisons, deportations, starvation, and exile, men for whom the road to Monte Cassino had begun in the frozen wastes of Siberia. They were told to take the mountain, a task that bordered on the impossible, as German paratroopers held fortified positions carved into rock and every path upward was covered by machine gun fire, artillery, and mortars. The Poles attacked in May 1944, advancing at night through minefields and shattered stone, carrying ammunition and wounded alike up slopes that seemed to reject human presence. Progress was measured in meters and paid for in blood. One soldier later recalled, “We went forward because there was nothing else left for us to do. Behind us was not safety, but memory,” while another wrote, “The mountain was not earth. It was fire and iron. You did not fight on it, you endured it.” The first assaults were repulsed with heavy losses, entire units cut down trying to seize key ridges, yet they did not break. They regrouped and went forward again, driven by something greater than orders. Anders understood the cost, but also the meaning, that for a nation occupied and erased, this battle was a declaration that Poland still fought. “We knew the price,” he is remembered to have said, “but we also knew that there are moments in history when a nation must prove it still exists.” The final assault came through relentless pressure, Polish units clawing their way up the slopes, taking one position after another in brutal close combat until the Germans, worn down and facing encirclement, began to withdraw. On May 18, 1944, Polish troops reached the summit and raised their flag over the ruins of the abbey as a bugler played the Hejnał Mariacki, its notes carrying across a battlefield that had consumed thousands. It was victory, but also mourning. Over 900 Polish soldiers were killed and thousands more wounded, the slopes left marked by graves as much as by craters. The cemetery below bears the inscription, “For our freedom and yours, we Polish soldiers gave our souls to God, our bodies to the soil of Italy, and our hearts to Poland.” Monte Cassino opened the road to Rome, yet for the Poles the triumph carried a bitter weight, their homeland still under Soviet control and their sacrifice largely unreflected in the postwar order. Still, the meaning of Monte Cassino endures. It stands as a testament not only to military perseverance, but to a refusal to disappear, a determination to be counted among the living nations of the world even when history seemed determined to erase them. In the end, the conquest of Monte Cassino was not only a victory over terrain and enemy, but a victory over oblivion.

🎞️🎥 C’mon…you know the words…. ☺️🇬🇧🇵🇱🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾 (In the comments please if you do! 😊) We are fundraising to fly our Hawker Hurricane to Poland this August. It is a small way in which we can show our gratitude and remembrance to ALL those who fought for freedom during the Second World War. Land, Sea & Air. 🌐 From just £2 your message or dedication will be written into the Pilots Log Book and flown onboard. The book will be presented to the Polish Air Force. 📖🙏 Visit our website or just giving - links in the below! Thank you 🇬🇧🇵🇱 justgiving.com/campaign/duxfo…

Remembering my Great Uncle, Mjr. Józef Michałowski, who was taken by the NKVD and transported to Starobielsk, I believe, in October 1939. From there, in April 1940, he was taken to Kharkiv, where he was murdered. His remains were found during the exhumation in 1995/1996 and identified by the contents of a wallet found adjacent to his remains. His name is engraved on the memorial at the Katyń Museum in Warsaw.

The IPN has produced a new documentary series, “Trail of Hope: The Battle of Monte Cassino”. It tells the story of soldiers of the Polish 2nd Corps - men who survived Soviet labour camps, prisons and deportations and later took part in one of the bloodiest battles on the Western Front of WW2. The series presents not only the battle itself but also the wider political and social context: the tragedy of a divided Poland, the experience of two totalitarian regimes, and the road to freedom taken by Polish soldiers. Based on testimonies of veterans and their families, as well as historians and residents of Italy, the production also shows the scale of the fighting on the Italian front and the enduring memory of Polish soldiers as symbols of courage and sacrifice.

@ArkadyRzegocki This is an excellent discussion, though in Polish, which is a must to listen to.

Leave your messages or dedications here - Thank you 🇬🇧🇵🇱 justgiving.com/campaign/duxfo…

SPITFIRE SUNDAY Today we see Spitfire PR.XI PM151 of 400 Sqn at Petit Brogel (B90) during early April 1945. The aircraft was destroyed during a landing accident later that year.

🗓The Józef Piłsudski Institute is a Polish historical and cultural organisation founded in exile after WW2. It was established in London #OTD in 1947. Its primary mission has been to preserve the memory, documents, and heritage of Poland’s struggle for independence, with a special focus on the life and work of Józef Piłsudski, Poland’s Chief of State and military leader who played a crucial role in regaining Poland’s sovereignty in 1918. The Institute collects manuscripts, books, photographs, and personal papers of Polish politicians, military leaders, and activists, especially those connected with the interwar Second Polish Republic and the Polish diaspora in the United Kingdom. Over the decades, it has served as a hub for scholars, historians, and the Polish community abroad. In 2009, the Institute received the Custodian of National Memory Award from the IPN, recognising its role in preserving Polish historical heritage and educating future generations about Poland’s past. The Institute continues to organise exhibitions, lectures, and publications, acting as a bridge between Poland and the Polish diaspora worldwide.

On 15 March 1941, the 1st Polish Fighter Wing (303, 306 and 308 Squadrons) began forming at RAF Northolt. Later, the 302, 315, 316 and 317 Squadrons also flew from the base, which gradually became a truly “Polish” airfield used exclusively by Polish fighter units. Today, it remains an active RAF station. Nearby stands the Polish Air Force Memorial, funded mainly by British donations and unveiled in 1948 to honour the Polish airmen who fought “for our freedom and yours”. Their sacrifice is not forgotten.

Why Poland Was Erased from the Victory Narrative of World War II: One of the paradoxes of the Second World War is that the country whose destruction began the conflict was largely absent from the story of victory that followed it. Poland was the first nation to resist Nazi Germany. When Germany invaded on September 1, 1939, Polish forces fought despite overwhelming odds. Just over two weeks later the Soviet Union invaded from the east under the secret terms of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. Poland was crushed between two totalitarian powers, yet the Polish state did not surrender. The government continued the war in exile, and Polish forces fought alongside the Allies on nearly every front. Polish pilots defended Britain during the Battle of Britain. Polish soldiers fought in North Africa and Italy, where the Polish II Corps captured Monte Cassino after months of failed Allied assaults. Polish troops helped liberate parts of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Polish intelligence had earlier played a crucial role in breaking the German Enigma code. Inside occupied Poland, one of the largest underground resistance movements in Europe operated in secret. The Polish Underground State maintained courts, schools, and an army that carried out sabotage and intelligence operations against the German occupation. Yet when the war ended, Poland was not fully present in the story of victory that the world came to remember. One reason was geopolitics. By 1945 the Soviet Union controlled Poland. At the Yalta Conference the Western Allies accepted that Poland would fall within the Soviet sphere of influence. The Polish government-in-exile that had fought alongside the Allies was gradually pushed aside, and a communist government backed by Moscow took power. Emphasizing Poland’s wartime struggle risked drawing attention to the uncomfortable truth that the country had not regained genuine independence. Soviet propaganda also shaped the historical narrative. The Red Army was portrayed as Poland’s liberator, while earlier Soviet actions such as the 1939 invasion, mass deportations, and the Katyn massacre were suppressed for decades. There was another factor as well. Global memory of the war increasingly centered on the Shoah, the systematic murder of six million Jews by Nazi Germany. This focus was justified, but it sometimes narrowed the broader story of suffering in Eastern Europe. Poland lost both its Jewish population, which had been one of the largest in the world, and millions of non-Jewish citizens who died under German and Soviet rule. These overlapping tragedies created a complicated memory landscape. Different communities emphasized different aspects of the war, and at times this produced what some call “competitive victimhood,” where recognition of suffering becomes contested. Poland’s wartime experience does not fit easily into a simple narrative of liberation. The country endured the destruction of its Jewish communities, the loss of millions of its citizens, and decades of communist rule after the defeat of Germany. Remembering Poland’s story does restore part of a historical picture of a nation that fought from the first days of the war but whose victory was overshadowed by politics and competing and minimizing memories of the conflict.

📺 Sunday Afternoon Telly! 📺 The full length interview with PHF Pilot Dave Harvey and his incredible adventures across Europe in Hawker Hurricane G-HURI including Moscow.! Our thanks to The Aircrew Debrief @AircrewDebrief Channel on YouTube. Help us show our gratitude by leaving a like and a Subscribe to their Channel. This is a big help to us as it helps us create more content in the future 🙏 youtu.be/Kfjcqlqrjn8?si…

The liquidation of the Kraków ghetto ended #OTD in 1943. German occupiers deported thousands of Jews to the nearby Płaszów forced labour camp, while many others were murdered on the spot. Learn more in IPN’s historical guide to the German camp in Płaszów tiny.pl/3vh7btr4g

They Defended Clydebank in 1941 - Today We Remember Them On the night of 13–14 March 1941, the German Luftwaffe carried out a devastating air raid on the shipbuilding city of Clydebank in Scotland. At the time, the Polish destroyer ORP Piorun was undergoing repairs in the local shipyard. Its crew joined the defence of the city, helping to disrupt the bombing of the docks and shipyard. Although the Polish crew did not shoot down any enemy aircraft, their actions made the attack far more difficult and helped the port avoid even greater destruction. During a commemorative ceremony, Karol Polejowski, the Deputy President of the IPN, together with Undersecretary of State at the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, Agnieszka Jędrzak and Clydebank Provost Karen Murray, unveiled a new plaque honouring the Polish sailors who took part in the defence of the city. 💬“Commemorating the history of the Polish Navy and Merchant Marine is an important part of the mission of the Institute of National Remembrance,” said Karol Polejowski. The IPN delegation also laid flowers at the Polish Monument on Solidarity Plaza, opposite the City Hall. The day before, in Dalbeth, at the Good Shepherd Cemetery, where many Polish soldiers who settled in Scotland after the Second World War are buried, a renovated Monument to Polish Sailors was unveiled. 💬“Today we pay tribute to those who survived the struggle of September 1939 and later found a home on hospitable Scottish soil, where they now rest for eternity. We honour the sailors who took part in exhausting Arctic convoys, demanding patrol missions, and the largest naval operations of the Second World War,” said Karol Polejowski. The IPN deputy head also marked two graves of Polish soldiers at the Scottish cemetery with official veteran plaques. @ajedrzak @PolishEmbassyUK @ClydebankCC @PLinEdinburgh

During the WW2 thousands of Polish soldiers were stationed across Scotland, including in Edinburgh. Actor Sean Connery later recalled their presence in his childhood neighbourhood of Fountainbridge in his memoir "Being a Scot": 🗨"Poles always carried briefcases with documents, wore long, well-fitted coats, had fancy hairstyles and were a great attraction for the residents of Fountainbridge. We children liked them very much, especially when they invited us to their exotic performances in the Palladium and gave us large lead badges with the white eagle".