| Jozef Stendera and
RAF 304 Squadron |
Jozef Stendera and RAF
304 Squadron
These pages are here in memory of Warrant
Office Jozef Stendera, P705623 and the RAF
Polish 304 Squadron.
A brief history of Jozef can be found here.
Jozef was my father in-law and I am, as he often said, the son he never
had. His daughter survives him as his only child.
Jozef, like many of his Polish countrymen, ended up here in the UK
joining the British Armed Services to fight in WWII. Not only did
they fight for the freedom of this country but also for the freedom of
their home country. As many ex Polish servicemen will tell you
sadly the freedom of their country they fought for was not to
happen. After the war when the allied powers/governments divided
up Europe, Poland, a once independent country, became an annex of
Russia locked behind the Iron Curtain and basically subject to Russian
rule.
Whilst many Poles joined the British Army and Navy, Jozef and many
other Poles joined the Royal Air Force. Some were assigned to
existing RAF squadrons and others were formed together into Polish
squadrons. These squadrons were deployed across the Fighter,
Bomber and Coastal Commands. A list of RAF Polish squadrons can
be found here.
There is a growing presence of information on the web and elsewhere
about the Polish Airmen in the RAF and their squadrons, like the
meticulous but slow and painful research by Neville Bougourd is doing on
304 Squadron. These these pages will more
specifically focus on Jozef and his pre-war, war and post war
experiences. His experiences, or should I say 'path', will be
very similar to the many Polish young men he trained and flew with, so
together with a lot of Jozef's personal records and memorabilia I
hope these pages honour not just Jozef but all Poles who risked and in
many cases gave their lives in defense of our country and
freedom.
As Jozef never had a son to tell his full Life and WWII experiences
to, like his father did to him about his WWI experiences and comrades,
all we have is Jozef's own incomplete written story titled Destination
England that he started but sadly failed to complete before his
death. Of course I and his daughter have the memories of what he
did tell us and we will editorially add this information to Jozef's own
written work.
An interesting point to note here is that it would appear that many
veterans, if not all, DO NOT openly and publicly talk about their
experiences. They prefer to keep these past pains to themselves
but will however tell their sons bedtime and general stories about
their lives during these past dark times and experiences.
Thankfully, slowly these stories and snippets of information and
official documents, like Jozef's "Flying Log Book", are building
a steady historical base for the future benefit of all.
Lastly, many of the personal and historical records we have will
hopefully
allow other WWII historians and researchers to possibly find missing
links to their research, in the names and pictures documented here, or
just get a Polish prisoner's view of life on the run and an
introduction to Russian Gulags.
Top Of Page
© Nick Bailey & Krys Bailey (nee Stendera) & Jozef Stendera
2013-2020