BIOGRAPHY OF AN AIRMAN

[waroczewski]

Some time ago, I wrote the biography of a Polish Airman who came to Britain to fight. I stopped at the end of WW2 and promised his sons I would research and finish it until the time of his death in 2011.


I have managed to cover his life from service pilot to SAR pilot - even the 3 years he spent in Malaya - but there is one big 2 year gap when he was in SAR at RAF Khormaksar (Jan 1964 to Feb 1966).


Can anyone help please? He was F/Lt Jan Walentowicz and stayed in the service until 1969 when he was too old to fly.


Many thanks

[waroczewski]

Regarding the previous post, I have just received information that he trained as an air traffic controller immediately before he was posted to RAF Khormaksar. Is it possible/likely that he worked there in that capacity?

[Dave B]

He was my CO on "C" Flight 202 squadron at Leuchars in the sixties, but I imagine you have this period covered.
He was a gentleman.

[evil7]

Hallo Dave,

he says the gap is from Jan´64 to Feb ´66. So. you might be helpful;)

[waroczewski]

Hello Dave B,


Everyone who has ever come into contact with him has told me that he was a gentleman. He lived to be 90 and kept his faculties until the very end.


Now, here's something that maybe not many people have told you; he was a hero. You would not believe what he went through to get to England just so he could fight back.


If you would like, I can send you a copy of what I wrote about him, just up to the end of the war. He fought in Poland then escaped but was interned by the Romanians, he escaped and fled to France where he was captured by the Germans. He escaped and fled to England where he joined up and flew Wellington bombers on anti-submarine warfare missions. Later he was Mentioned in Despatches for his actions in the Malaya Emergency then went into SAR before coming to Khormaksar. Then went back to SAR in England. What a man!


So, if you can tell me any more about the time you knew him, I will be very happy! And if you have any pictures I can use, I will think I have died and gone to heaven! As you will have guessed, I am doing this out of respect and not for money. If it helps, I will PM you with my email address.

[waroczewski]

Hello Dave B,


Tried to post it but it is 50% too long, even without the photos! So if you want to see it, please PM me with your email address


Regards
Neville

[Nigel Osborn]

I remember in 63 or 64 our navy Whirlwind squadron spent a few months at RAF Odiham. I met a Polish pilot who kindly gave me my first twin ride in a Belvedere but sadly I can't remember his name. We shared the RAF crewroom & enjoyed listening to his WW2 time as a bomber pilot. I expect there were quite a few Polish pilots around in those days but he does sound like your man, unfortunately no photos.

[waroczewski]

Hello Nigel,

There is a small gap in his service history in 1963 but he went to Khormaksar in January 1964. He could easily have been the man you are talking about. If you would like to read his story you can find it (up to the end of WW2) at 304squadron.********.com/.../jan-walentowicz-part-1-up-to-1945.html and there are contemporary photographs there too.

[Dave B]

I joined 202 Squadron at Leuchars in the summer of 1966, and Jan was the flight commander, I am afraid I do not have any photos of him, just a few of the flight. He very rarely talked about the war, but we did get him to open up one night shift in the crew room, when he talked about being a night fighter pilot, and nearly bagging a German aircraft.
I remember him being very upset at losing a friend when a Leconfield Whirlwind had a blade failure.
I still recon the old Whirlwind Mk 10 was one of the best short range inshore rescue machines, but we were embarrassed when a Danish S61 had to come and do a long range job for us. We had not seen an S61 in the flesh before, and there was lots of mutterings about why the hell cannot we have something like that.
It must have been around late 68, or early 69 that Jan was replaced.

[waroczewski]

He was moved to RAF Acklington on 1st May 1968 and retired on 1st October 1969. I have some pictures from Leuchars, one posing by a helicopter with F/Sgt Lockwood and M.Sig Shaw after rescuing a Lightning pilotwho was his next door neighbour.


If I can work put how to do it I will put them up here or I can email them to you.


Regards
Neville

[waroczewski]

http://3.bp.********.com/-49l_J9EiKCc/U4RWNt4vHtI/AAAAAAAAAzE/_SeggbZ5V2w/s1600/Jan-Walentowicz.jpg (http://3.bp.********.com/-49l_J9EiKCc/U4RWNt4vHtI/AAAAAAAAAzE/_SeggbZ5V2w/s1600/Jan-Walentowicz.jpg)
I hope this comes through for you
Regards
Neville

[waroczewski]

Well, that was a dismal failure! One more try.
http://3.bp.********.com/-49l_J9EiKCc/U4RWNt4vHtI/AAAAAAAAAzE/_SeggbZ5V2w/s1600/Jan-Walentowicz.jpg (http://3.bp.********.com/-49l_J9EiKCc/U4RWNt4vHtI/AAAAAAAAAzE/_SeggbZ5V2w/s1600/Jan-Walentowicz.jpg)

[Um... lifting...]

If you click on the link, then replace the ******** with topsgolb spelled backward in the address bar, you can see the image.

PPRuNe doesn't like topsgolb spelled backward and will not permit it anywhere in a post.

[waroczewski]

Thank you for that information. I could not understand why the photo would not Transmit. I like the site but I don't like censorship like this which means I can never post a photo because that's where I store them! :mad:

[roving]

https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2011/oct/27/jan-walentowicz-obituary

https://goo.gl/2C6Tye

[rotorfossil]

I was in the Khormaksar SAR Flight in that period and he wasn’t in the flight. Digger Barrell was the flight commander. The only other resident helicopter outfit was 26 Sqn Belvederes, but they had so many serviceability problems that they didn’t do much flying.

[roving]

I was in the Khormaksar SAR Flight in that period and he wasn’t in the flight. Digger Barrell was the flight commander. The only other resident helicopter outfit was 26 Sqn Belvederes, but they had so many serviceability problems that they didn’t do much flying.

The script actually records that he was posted to Aden as an ATC. He only resumed flying rotors when he finished that tour and returned to the UK.

Jan's flying career ended for the time being in August 1960 - shortly after his 40th birthday - and he completed an Air Traffic Controller Course at RAF Shawbury, Shropshire and was subsequently posted to RAF Linton-On-Ouse to continue his "ground tour". In January 1964 Jan was posted overseas to RAF Khormaksar, Aden. This was the time of 'operations' in the Radfan, when the station was the busiest in the RAF with nine squadrons based there. He moved back to the UK in 1966 for helicopter refresher training. In April he was posted to 202 Squadron, RAF Leuchars as C Flight Commander. He was still flying Whirlwinds, but this time the HAR10 version. In 'C' flight Jan completed 360 flying hours consisting of 68 operational hours and 22 incident 'scrambles'.

[industry insider]

Digger Barrell was the flight commander.

Digger Barrell was one of my IR course instructors at ND in 1982.

[Thomas coupling]

What a fantastic success story - chasing this guys life story through the medium of Pprune.

More power to its elbow!

[roving]

Air Ministry, 10th December, 1957.
The QUEEN has 'been graciously pleased to give
orders, as on 30th August, 1957, for the publication
of the names of the undermentioned personnel who
have been mentioned in despatches in recognition
of distinguished service in Malaya:—

Flight Lieutenant Jan WALENTOWICZ (793924), Royal Air Force.

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/41248/supplement/7191

[Carl Stubbs]

My late Father M/Plt Carl Stubbs flew with and was friends with Jan I believe. My Father was posted to Malaya during the late 50s flying Sycamores, Borneo in the early 60s and in between times and up until he retired posted to Leuchars on SAR with 228 then 202 Sqns. I would be fascinated to hear more of Jan's story. From what I have been told, Jan was a gentleman, a hero and a great pilot.

[SASless]

"Digger" Barrell....perhaps known to me as "Bill"?

Always addressed me as "Shag"!

He wound up at Redhill and bounced around in the S-58T for a bit....that "Digger" Barrell?

[megan]

Always addressed me as "Shag"From a habit of sitting on a rock with wings outstretched, or off duty pursuits SAS? ;)

[Fareastdriver]

Digger called everybody Shag. The last time I flew with him was on a Sycamore 'refresher' at Northolt in 1971. I met him a couple of times in the late seventies with Bristow.

[Cornish Jack]

Lots of memory prompts re. Whirlwind days. The time line for Jan W means that I would have probably flown with him when he converted to W10s at Valley. The Khormaksar S&R mention at first made me think of a similar gentleman but that was in the middle 50s - 'Tommy' Tomczak M. Plt, later name changed to Tommy Pavey and commissioned as Fl. Lt. He was one of the three pilots who set up the Khormaksar S&R Flt with Phil Clay and ... ?Bamber?. Tommy's history had many similarities to Jan W's.