Destination England -
Polish Underground Army
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10. Polish Underground Army
On the next day we got up early and, pretending to be man and wife,
this lady and I walked arm in arm to the railway station where she
bought me a ticket to Lwow, (she already had a return ticket).
Taking a last look at the cattle carriages loaded with human cargo
which were waiting on side tracks ready for departure, we boarded our
train. My companion left me half way through the journey to
change for another train. I continued on to Lwow, from where I
went to see the family with the two young daughters, giving them their
bad news about Ferdek and of course wishing them a Happy New
Year. They invited me to stay the night and as a result I stayed
five months!
During my stay with this family, who were living about 2 miles outside
Lwow, I joined the Polish Underground Army and later signed up more
members to it. In January and February of 1940 there were heavy
snowfalls in the area, and that gave me a chance to work during the
nights in the snow clearing brigades. We used to meet at the
local tram depot at about 11 pm., from where we took tram locomotives
with special snow carriages and drove along Lwow's streets. Very
often I was driving. We cleared snow not only from tramway rails,
but also from the streets, since the snow had gathered into heaps
during the day. We finished work at about 6 am.
This casual work was very useful, not only from the financial point of
view, but also because it gave us an opportunity to meet other members
of the Underground Army, exchanging views, news etc. During one
of these nights I met one of my air force school friends who was year
older than I and had graduated a year earlier. I discovered that
he was living only half a mile from me. His Christian name was
the same as mine, Jozef, (nicknamed "Yusek"). From then on, we
travelled to and from work together, which was comforting at night when
we had to walk by barracks where Russian troops were stationed.
Sentries would challenge us to cross to the other side of the road or
be shot. Very often during the daytime, I went to the market to
buy something for myself or my hosts, that is if our 'liberators'
didn't buy it before I got there!
The Russians had not only invaded my country with their army, but with
their families as well who were buying up all the goods which were
still available, mostly on the black market. For example, their
wives, after purchasing nightdresses, were wearing them in the town
during the daytime. Very often you could see them wearing small
alarm clocks on their wrists, because for many of them it was a
novelty. When asked if such things were being made in Russia,
there was always one answer: "Da" which means "Yes", "They make such
goods in Moscow". However, when we inquired whether lemons or
oranges were made there as well, their answer was still the same; "Da"!
My life in the home of my hosts was getting more difficult every day,
because of their daughters. Both of them were after ending my
'freedom', and I wasn't anxious to get married yet, as I was only 22
years old and there was a war on. My idea was to fight for
freedom, not be deprived of it! So together my friend Yusek and I
started planning our trip to Hungary. I sold my watch on the
market and, with part of the money it brought, I bought a pair of
binoculars which I anticipated would be useful during our
journey.
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© Nick Bailey & Krys Bailey (nee Stendera) & Jozef Stendera
2013-2020