Jerzy Główczewski

Jerzy Eligiusz Główczewski (19 November 1922 – 13 April 2020) was a Polish pilot of the Second World War.

Jerzy Główczewski
Born(1922-11-19)19 November 1922
Warsaw, Poland
Died13 April 2020(2020-04-13) (aged 97)
New York City, New York, United States
AllegiancePoland
United Kingdom
Service/branchPolish Armed Forces in the West
Royal Air Force
Years of service1941–1945
UnitNo. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron
Battles/warsSecond World War
AwardsCross of Valour (3)
Order of the White Eagle
Other workEngineering

Early life and wartime activities

Jerzy Eligiusz Główczewski was born in Warsaw, Poland, on 19 November 1922. He studied at a strict Jesuit-run school as a child. In 1939, during the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, he fled Poland alongside his father.[1]

He joined the Polish Armed Forces in the West of the Polish government-in-exile in 1941, and fought in Egypt and Libya before travelling to Britain to undergo flight training with the Royal Air Force and flew on 100 missions with the No. 308 Polish Fighter Squadron.[2]

Awards

He was awarded the Cross of Valour three times[2] and was awarded the Order of the White Eagle.[3]

Post-war activities

Główczewski returned to Poland in 1947. He received a degree in engineering from the Warsaw University of Technology in 1952 and helped reconstruct the city of Warsaw after it had been damaged by bombings during the war.[2]

Death

Jerzy Główczewski died from complications of COVID-19 at a nursing home in Manhattan on 12 April 2020. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving Polish fighter for the Royal Air Force.[2]

See also

References
  1. Kulish, Nicholas (15 May 2020). "Jerzy Glowczewski, Last of the Polish Fighter Pilots of W.W. II, Dies at 97". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 May 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  2. Barrett, Claire (20 May 2020). "Jerzy Główczewski, Last Surviving Polish-born WWII RAF Pilot Succumbs to Covid-19". HistoryNet. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  3. Helena (15 May 2020). "Koronawirus zabrał kolejnego bohatera" [Coronavirus has taken another hero]. Wszystko o Wszystkim (in Polish).
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