260808 Cpl. Boleslaw Jan Klimek Polish Army 3rd Btn. 26th Infantry Regiment from:Lwow, Poland Boleslaw Klimek fought in the defence of Warsaw during the German invasion of 1939, and saved the lives of 25 soldiers after their lines of communication had been cut off by the Germans. The last action in which he fought was at Fort Radiowo Boernerowo. He and his comrades were praised by a German general, who could not believe that so few soldiers could put up such a fierce fight. He surrendered when Poland capitulated under a General Order issued on 28th September 1939. Afterward, he went through POW camps at Hoyerswerda, Colditz, Koenigstein, and Hohenstein Oflag/Stalag 4A. He was released by the Germans just before liberation by Russian forces in May 1945 and pointed in the direction of the British lines. The British tried to send him back toward the Russian lines, which would have meant certain death for him. Fortunately, he was rescued by French soldiers, who put him on a train to Paris. He ended up with the Polish 2nd Corps in Marseilles and went on to serve in Italy and Palestine.
He came to the UK in 1947 aboard the SS Mauretania as part of the Polish resettlement effort and wound up at the Polish Resettlement Corps Depot at RAF Millom in Cumbria, where he enrolled in college courses to become a surveyor. Thereafter, he helped build many key buildings in Manchester from 1949 to 1962.
He died in an industrial accident on 12th October 1962, and was laid to rest in Moston Cemetery (St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Churchyard). He was a great father and a war hero.
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