Group Captain Stanislaw Wandzilak
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Group Captain Stanislaw Wandzilak
Would anyone here remember Group Captain Stanislaw Wandzilak, OBE, DFC, AFC (1917 - 2000)?
He was my friend's uncle and I am interested in personal recollections or anecdotes about any stage in his career. This information might be used in a display at a museum in Krakow or on a historical website, but above all it will be passed along to his three young great-nephews, to whom he bequeathed his medals.
With apologies for its length, but as a possible spur to recollections, here is some information gleaned from the December 7, 2000 Times obituary:
Graduated Sept 1, 1939 from Polish Air Force Officers' School at Deblin and, in spring of 1940, from French fighter- pilot's course at Etampes. Posted to a Polish flight defending Clermont-Ferrand.
Evacuated through Spain and joined 308 (City of Krakow) Squadron, stationed at Speke; flew Hurricanes. Also flew with 303 and 315 Squadrons. Shot down 2 FW190s.
Staff work with the 2nd Tactical Air Force, preparing the D-Day landings.
Returned to combat duty in France with 308 Squadron. As the Times noted:
"On August 26, 1944 he was shot down by ground fire during his fourth sortie that day. He managed to bail out of his burning Spitfire and avoid capture. Much to his annoyance, a platoon of German infantry he was trying to creep round spotted him and insisted on surrendering. He tried to get them off his back, but they were so afraid of being captured and shot by the French Resistance that they followed him around like dogs until he finally reached Allied positions and managed to pass them on to some Canadians. Exactly a week after being shot down, he found 308 on an improvised airfield, and within a couple of hours he was in the air, leading his flight in an attack on Boulogne. The squadron continued in support of the Allied advance into Belgium, but Wandzilak's parachute jump had reopened an old wound and in October 1944 he was sent back to hospital in England."
In his combat career he reached the rank of flight lieutenant and won the Polish Virtuti Militari Cross and Cross of Valour with three Bars, as well as the DFC. He next served as ADC to the Polish Minister of War in the Polish government-in-exile. In 1948 he was offered a short service commission in the RAF and, in 1950, a permanent commission.
In June 1951, the Times notes, "he became flying instructor on Meteor jets at the Advanced Flying School, Driffield. In 1952 he was promoted to squadron leader, and posted to flying schools at Full Sutton and Oakington where he trained pilots on Vampire jets. In 1955 he was awarded the AFC and transferred to HQ 25 Advanced Training Group, with special responsibility for developing flight safety programmes. He was appointed OBE in recognition of this work in the 1958 New Year Honours. He was then moved to the Flight Safety Directorate in the Air Ministry and promoted to wing commander. He specialised in accident investigation."
"In 1963 he became commander of the Flying School at Oakington. When he left this post three years later, the school had clocked up more than 10,000 hours of flying training without a single accident, a record of which he was very proud. It won him the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air. Over the previous 15 years he had carried out 2,000 training and examination flights himself, with some 400 pilots. In 1966 he was promoted to group captain and posted to Flying Training Command. When his flying career was over he was moved to London to be Deputy Director of Personnel at the Air Ministry."
After retiring in 1973, he returned to work at the Air Ministry as a civil servant and became active in the RAF Benevolent Fund. He was also active in the Polish Air Force Association and the restoration of the Northolt monument. In 1990 the President of Poland awarded him the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
(I am also aware of a feature on Stanislaw Wandzilak in Flypast magazine, although I have not seen the article).
For possible museum use, I would also be grateful for any other personal recollections of or anecdotes about Polish pilots in the RAF during or after WWII.
He was my friend's uncle and I am interested in personal recollections or anecdotes about any stage in his career. This information might be used in a display at a museum in Krakow or on a historical website, but above all it will be passed along to his three young great-nephews, to whom he bequeathed his medals.
With apologies for its length, but as a possible spur to recollections, here is some information gleaned from the December 7, 2000 Times obituary:
Graduated Sept 1, 1939 from Polish Air Force Officers' School at Deblin and, in spring of 1940, from French fighter- pilot's course at Etampes. Posted to a Polish flight defending Clermont-Ferrand.
Evacuated through Spain and joined 308 (City of Krakow) Squadron, stationed at Speke; flew Hurricanes. Also flew with 303 and 315 Squadrons. Shot down 2 FW190s.
Staff work with the 2nd Tactical Air Force, preparing the D-Day landings.
Returned to combat duty in France with 308 Squadron. As the Times noted:
"On August 26, 1944 he was shot down by ground fire during his fourth sortie that day. He managed to bail out of his burning Spitfire and avoid capture. Much to his annoyance, a platoon of German infantry he was trying to creep round spotted him and insisted on surrendering. He tried to get them off his back, but they were so afraid of being captured and shot by the French Resistance that they followed him around like dogs until he finally reached Allied positions and managed to pass them on to some Canadians. Exactly a week after being shot down, he found 308 on an improvised airfield, and within a couple of hours he was in the air, leading his flight in an attack on Boulogne. The squadron continued in support of the Allied advance into Belgium, but Wandzilak's parachute jump had reopened an old wound and in October 1944 he was sent back to hospital in England."
In his combat career he reached the rank of flight lieutenant and won the Polish Virtuti Militari Cross and Cross of Valour with three Bars, as well as the DFC. He next served as ADC to the Polish Minister of War in the Polish government-in-exile. In 1948 he was offered a short service commission in the RAF and, in 1950, a permanent commission.
In June 1951, the Times notes, "he became flying instructor on Meteor jets at the Advanced Flying School, Driffield. In 1952 he was promoted to squadron leader, and posted to flying schools at Full Sutton and Oakington where he trained pilots on Vampire jets. In 1955 he was awarded the AFC and transferred to HQ 25 Advanced Training Group, with special responsibility for developing flight safety programmes. He was appointed OBE in recognition of this work in the 1958 New Year Honours. He was then moved to the Flight Safety Directorate in the Air Ministry and promoted to wing commander. He specialised in accident investigation."
"In 1963 he became commander of the Flying School at Oakington. When he left this post three years later, the school had clocked up more than 10,000 hours of flying training without a single accident, a record of which he was very proud. It won him the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air. Over the previous 15 years he had carried out 2,000 training and examination flights himself, with some 400 pilots. In 1966 he was promoted to group captain and posted to Flying Training Command. When his flying career was over he was moved to London to be Deputy Director of Personnel at the Air Ministry."
After retiring in 1973, he returned to work at the Air Ministry as a civil servant and became active in the RAF Benevolent Fund. He was also active in the Polish Air Force Association and the restoration of the Northolt monument. In 1990 the President of Poland awarded him the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
(I am also aware of a feature on Stanislaw Wandzilak in Flypast magazine, although I have not seen the article).
For possible museum use, I would also be grateful for any other personal recollections of or anecdotes about Polish pilots in the RAF during or after WWII.
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I remember him from Oakington in 1964 - I thought he was the Chief Instructor which would make him a Wing Commander I think. A very colourful character and famous for his monocle. I understand on one student's night flying test, he dropped his monocle on the floor and spent the majority of the sortie scrabbbling round looking for it, completely ignoring the candidate student! I'm surprised you haven't received more replies!
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Not sure! Didn't the night test involve a crawl round the local airfields - "Over Over" comes to mind. Presumably the stude, course ahead of me I think, continued the curcuit and landed back at Oakington. Loose article check for the monocle possibly?
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I too remember him at Oakington around '64, one of the reasons being that, at our first briefing, he introduced himself as "Wing Commander Wandzilak - not 2-zilak".
What a great man - a privilege to have been instructed by him, albeit briefly, on the Varsity.
What a great man - a privilege to have been instructed by him, albeit briefly, on the Varsity.
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I remember Sqn Ldr Wandzilak, as he then was, arriving at Oakington from Full Sutton on promotion. It was about 1953, and he was appointed CO of 3 squadron. I use the small "s" in squadron, as there were three flying squadrons of Vampires at Oakington. He endeared himself to we airmen and NCOs by taking us into his confidence, asking us to let him or other QFI's know if we thought any of the students were unduly nervous before going off on their own.
An absolutely charming man, with little distance between him and the troops, he would conduct final handling tests himself, occupying the cockpit of the T11 for hours, staying put while the aircraft was being refuelled, debriefing one student and briefing the next before the next sortie. Oxygen rules notwithstanding, there were often cigarette ends stamped out on the cockpit floor at the end of the day. At the time the T11's had not yet had the bang seats fitted, so everything was so much simpler.
In common with most of the officers, he ran an old car. His car was a Y type Ford, about 1934/35 vintage, registration number CYO 447.
I realise that I have plumbed the depths of nerdishness with that last snippet, but felt that I had to share it with someone.
An absolutely charming man, with little distance between him and the troops, he would conduct final handling tests himself, occupying the cockpit of the T11 for hours, staying put while the aircraft was being refuelled, debriefing one student and briefing the next before the next sortie. Oxygen rules notwithstanding, there were often cigarette ends stamped out on the cockpit floor at the end of the day. At the time the T11's had not yet had the bang seats fitted, so everything was so much simpler.
In common with most of the officers, he ran an old car. His car was a Y type Ford, about 1934/35 vintage, registration number CYO 447.
I realise that I have plumbed the depths of nerdishness with that last snippet, but felt that I had to share it with someone.
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I remember Stan from 203 AFS Driffield where I did the Meteor course in 1951. He was not my instructor nor even, I think, on my flight or squadron. But he was one of the station "characters" and well known as an inspirational instructor at a time when there were few of them and morale was brittle owing to a notoriously high fatality rate. RIP 
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I,too,remember Stan Wandzilak from Driffield days; I was there from Jan-April 1952, and I'm pretty sure he was one of the QFIs on our flight. He never instructed me, but do remember him to be a much liked and respected member of the staff. For some reason he always told us he was a naturalised Welshman!
I met him subsequently, he as Flight Safety at Flying Training Command visiting Swinderby, where I was a QFI, and then when he was CFI at Oakington, and I was a lowly staff officer doing staff visits from 23 Group. It was always a pleasure to meet him again. A real gentleman.
I met him subsequently, he as Flight Safety at Flying Training Command visiting Swinderby, where I was a QFI, and then when he was CFI at Oakington, and I was a lowly staff officer doing staff visits from 23 Group. It was always a pleasure to meet him again. A real gentleman.
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wb-krk. I note in your original post you want any info on Polish aircrew for possible museum use. If you send me a private message with your address I can send the fairly scant details of my late brother in law's elder brother, Flt Lt Wladyslaw Drecki, who was killed in 1943 flying a Spitfire in Sicily.
Further to my last post, and slightly off the subject, I wanted to add a tribute to my instructor on Meteors at Driffield, Fg Off Jerry Sodec, another of those great chaps who escaped from Europe and flew with the RAF during and after the war. He was a Czechoslavakian gentleman, and fairly difficult to understand at ground level. At 35000ft in a Meteor 7, unpressurised-impossible!
But he was a splendid instructor, and made learning to fly the Meatbox great fun.
Further to my last post, and slightly off the subject, I wanted to add a tribute to my instructor on Meteors at Driffield, Fg Off Jerry Sodec, another of those great chaps who escaped from Europe and flew with the RAF during and after the war. He was a Czechoslavakian gentleman, and fairly difficult to understand at ground level. At 35000ft in a Meteor 7, unpressurised-impossible!
But he was a splendid instructor, and made learning to fly the Meatbox great fun.
