Destination England -
Foreword
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Contents
Foreword
This is Jozef Stendera's personal story about about his entrance into
the Polish Air Force Non Commissioned Officers Training School, the
outbreak of war, life on the run from the Germans and Russians,
captivity as a POW, and his escape and trip to England to join the
Royal Air Force and the Polish RAF 304 Bomber Squadron.
Unfortunately Jozef never finished this story before he died.
Like for many people, WWII severely disrupted peoples lives and careers
and Jozef's life was no exception. Unlike many he survived
the war to marry an English woman and to bring up his daughter.
Jozef was very proud of his daughter but a father-daughter relationship
does not quite share the same father-son relationship. I remember
asking my dad "what did you do in the war" as many people here
who were born in the 1950's will remember doing this themselves.
Thankfully Jozef did tell his daughter snippets of information as he
did me.
The story here, up to Chapter 17, is Jozef's own work. We have
added some illustrations/pictures and web links (URLs) where
appropriate in support of Jozef's written words.
Chapter 17 onwards is written by myself and his daughter using
information Jozef told us about and from information gathered from his
own personal documents or other sources.
We hope you enjoy the story and information and above all get an
insight
into the determination of many brave Poles to fight on after their
country was invaded.
Please note! Jozef's story and information will be updated over time
so what appears today will not be final.
Nick and Krys Bailey
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© Nick Bailey & Krys Bailey (nee Stendera) & Jozef Stendera
2013-2020