Late in the afternoon of August 1st, 1944, no less than 50,000 soldiers of the Polish Home Army launched an audacious operation designed to wrest control of their Nation’s capital from its German occupiers.
While much has rightly been documented about their heroism and sacrifice, next to nothing has been written about the bold and courageous participation of hundreds of foreign nationals who fought alongside them.
Unbeknownst to many, entire platoons of Czechs, Slovaks, and Russians rallied to the Polish cause, and they were joined not just by German, Italian, and Hungarian defectors, but also, by one lone extraordinary Englishman – then 25-year-old, John George Ward.
On the outbreak of war in September 1939, John was serving as a gunner and wireless operator with No. 226 Squadron of the Royal Air Force.
(The cap badge of No. 226 Squadron of the Royal Air Force bearing its motto: “Non sibi sed patri” – “For country not for self”. Formed on April 1st, 1918, at Pizzone, Italy, No. 226 Squadron flew both bombers and fighters during the final months of the First World War. Although disbanded after the signing of the armistice in November of the same year, No. 226 was reformed as part of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s re-armament plan in 1937. Then deployed to France at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, it was there, the squadron served as the vanguard of the RAF’s Advanced Air Striking Force during the German invasion in 1940. Notwithstanding the heroism and bravery of its pilots and crewmen, No. 226 endured heavy losses during the battle, and was soon forced to withdraw to the port of Brest. From there, it was evacuated along with more than 28,000 British servicemen to England, where, in the spring of 1941, the squadron began a series of bombing runs against German-occupied ports and shipping. In early 1944, No. 226 became part of the RAF’s 2nd Tactical Air Force – the latter of which, it supported both during the Allied invasion of Normandy, and the subsequent advance into Germany.)
Deployed to France in the same year, he was later shot down, captured, and transferred to a POW camp in Leszno, Poland, from where, he ultimately escaped, and established contact with the Polish underground.
(When John was shot down in the summer of 1940, he was flying in a British-made “Fairey Battle” single-engine light bomber. Here, a formation of Fairey Battles can be seen flying over France in the same year. Designed and manufactured by the once flourishing Fairey Aviation Company, the latter transferred its first Fairey Battle prototype to the Royal Air Force in 1936. Powered by a Rolls Royce Merlin engine, the Fairey Battle attained a maximum speed of nearly 260mph during its early flight testing, and reportedly achieved “a performance in advance of any contemporary day bomber”.By the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, however, the RAF soon discovered that, although “sturdy and easy to fly, it was no match for what the Luftwaffe was flying…” Despite knowing “it was totally unacceptable for combat”, no less than 10 Fairey Battle squadrons were deployed during the Battle of France in 1940; and, even though they knew “it was virtual suicide” to engage their German adversaries while flying it, still, British pilots repeatedly took to the skies in brave endeavors to slow the German advance; support their French allies; and, when the battle took a turn for the worse, cover the withdrawal and evacuation of their comrades.)
In addition to leading missions of sabotage and subversion, he assumed a position that came to define him during the Warsaw Uprising – Namely, as a clandestine radio operative, transmitting vital intelligence reports to his compatriots in London.
Soon after his arrival in the city on this day in 1944, John took to the airwaves of the resistance run “Radio Lightning”, broadcasting not only what was happening on the ground, but also, lobbying his government for desperately needed weaponry.
(A member of the Polish Home Army operating one of the “Antoni Zebik” radio transmitters John used to broadcast his vital intelligence reports to his compatriots in London during the Warsaw Uprising. Broadcasting by way of the resistance-run “Błyskawica Stacja Radiowa” (“Lightning Radio Station”) the latter served as the foremost underground radio station during the Warsaw Uprising. Headed by Stanisław Zadrożn of the Polish Home Army, “Lightning” transmitted no less than four times a day, starting early in the morning with updates from the frontline, and concluding late in the evening with patriotic poems, music, and even short radio plays. In the closing days of the uprising, John was offered evacuation from the radio station’s headquarters by the Home Army’s Commander-in-Chief – General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski. Rather than accept General Bór-Komorowski’s offer, however, John refused to leave his Polish compatriots. Instead, he broadcast alongside them through until their final transmission on October 4th, 1944 – two days after the Germans brought the Warsaw Uprising to an end.)
As it became obvious, though, that the supplies he and his fellow fighters eventually received would never be enough to sustain their fight, they armed themselves with what few rifles and bullets they had left, and made a valiant attempt to break through to Soviet lines.
(An iconic photograph of Second Lieutenant Henryk “Henio” Ozarek (left) with his comrade, Tadeusz “Roma” Pshibyshevsky of the Polish Home Army fighting in a rubble-strewn Kredytowa-Krolewska Street during the closing stages of the Warsaw Uprising in October 1944. Henryk Ożarek can be seen dual-wielding Polish-made “Vis wz. 35” pistols, and Tadeusz Przybyszewski can be seen firing the Poles’ equivalent of the British-made “Sten” sub-machine gun – the “Błyskawica” (“Lightning”) submachine gun.)
Despite being caught and sent to work as slave labor along the way, incredibly, John escaped once again and, notwithstanding the efforts of his captors to recapture him, successfully evaded them by embedding himself with local partisans.
With them, he stayed and battled through until mid-January 1945 when, not long after the Russian Red Army initiated its Vistula-Oder offensive, he was picked up by the NKVD; questioned as to what he – as a “British alien” – was doing on Polish territory; and only released thanks to the intervention of an American captain who demanded they free him.
Although little is known about John’s post-war life, what is known, is that he was awarded Great Britain’s Military Cross for “conspicuous gallantry”; was subsequently promoted to Flying Officer; and, shortly before his passing in 1995, was belatedly bestowed Poland’s prestigious Cross of Valor.
To this day, he remains a revered and venerated figure there.
Indeed, as best expressed by one of his Varsovian comrades when he reflected on John’s legacy:
“The contribution he made in the struggle for our liberty is more than just a memory; it’s etched into the annals of our history.”
(Poland’s highly coveted “Krzyż Walecznych” (Cross of Valor), alongside Great Britain’s Military Cross, such as the ones presented to John in recognition of his “deeds of courage on the battlefield” during the Warsaw Uprising.)
Addendum:
Prior to making his broadcasts by way of “Radio Lightning”, John spent three years transcribing BBC radio broadcasts for Otto Gordzialowski – a Polish lawyer who, alongside his legal work, also ran an underground newspaper he called, “Dzien”, meaning, “Day”.
In September 1941, John and Otto were discovered by the Gestapo, and very nearly captured; but, thanks to their incredible ability to keep one step ahead of their hunters, both men managed to evade capture and, in so doing, establish another newspaper John called, “The Echo”.
So well received his reports were from occupied Poland, he was also recruited by and served as an undercover war correspondent for the London Times – the latter of which, he prepared more than 60 eye-witness accounts of “life fighting behind enemy lines” as a British national in the Polish Home Army.
A rare, surviving recording of John broadcasting from Warsaw during the height of the uprising in 1944 can be listened to here:
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