Polish Colonel

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Raine
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Polish Colonel

#1

Post by Raine » 16 Jun 2004, 00:09

Hi to all!

My family arrived to Argentina end of 1948. With us came also Felix Machnowski (not sure if correct spelling) who was a colonel of polish army. As far as I remember, he did take part in the assault to Montecassino. In some moment he left, I don’t know when or where, but I am interested in knowing who he really was. This photo came to Argentina with him, he is the one at left, and the other two are Sikorski and Anders? Anyone can help? Where could I find out some more about “uncle Felix”?

Best regards. Raine at [email protected]
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Machnowski.jpg
Colonel Machnowski?
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henryk
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#2

Post by henryk » 16 Jun 2004, 20:00

Machnowski is probably the correct spelling. In the 1990 Polish census there were 539 respondents with that surname. Also Feliks Machnowski has received the Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari.
http://www.wwdir.com/polishbk.html
offers details of award and picture of the Cross received, $US5.


Raine
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#3

Post by Raine » 17 Jun 2004, 01:54

Thank you!

Machnowski is probably the correct spelling. In the 1990 Polish census there were 539 respondents with that surname. Also Feliks Machnowski has received the Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari.
WOW! Any idea when or why? Anyone know if the two military in the first photo are really Sikorski and Anders?

Here is a better photo, Feliks is on the left, then my father Zygmunt Golab, I am the smallest… All in Argentina.

Cheers from Patagonia Raine
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FeliksMachnowski-ZygmuntGolab.jpg
FeliksMachnowski-ZygmuntGolab.jpg (9.7 KiB) Viewed 5520 times

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henryk
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#4

Post by henryk » 18 Jun 2004, 21:52

I have no further information on the award. I guess the only way is to pay the US$5.
I downloaded images of General Anders and General Sikorski using
http://images.google.com/
There is no doubt the second person in is General Anders. The image of the third person is too indistinct to verify it is General Sikorski.
I remember a similar picture of Generals Anders and Sikorski in the USSR. I will try to find it.

Raine
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Polish Colonel

#5

Post by Raine » 04 Aug 2004, 19:55

Hi to all! here is a better photo of ¿Colonel? Machnowski. It is his marriage day in Scotland, 1948, so I imagine it is his full uniform. Can anyone tell by his badges if he really was a colonel and any other detail? Thanks a lot. Best wishes, Raine in Patagonia
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Felis-Machnowski-sra.jpg
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Ogorek
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#6

Post by Ogorek » 05 Aug 2004, 20:41

He is indeed a colonel, wearing the Virtuti Militari... the eagles on his collar tabs indicate that he had graduated staff college.

Czerkawska
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Re: Polish Colonel

#7

Post by Czerkawska » 11 Sep 2021, 16:21

Feliks was my uncle by marriage. I'm sorry that this comment is so late, but it might still be picked up. I have been doing some intensive research on my Polish family for a new book. Recently, I found out quite a lot more about Feliks. He married my grandfather's sister, Ludmila usually known as Ludka Czerkawska. He was already a war hero when they met having been awarded the Virtuti Militari in the Polish-Bolshevik war. They were married in Warsaw, although Ludka was born and spent most of her childhood on the family estate, at a place called Meryszczow, now Mereshchev, in Ukraine.

Feliks was from Zloczow about 40 kilometres away, and they were married in 1925. My late father always said that they probably met in one of the big country houses round about. There were military exercises in the area, and the Polish officers were very popular with the young women at balls and parties. Feliks and Ludka spent some time in Warsaw, and his career continued to flourish.

I've often wondered if they ever had children, but I've been unable to find out anything about that possibility. Sadly, the outbreak of WW2 meant that the whole family suffered terrible upheavals and many of them didn't survive. My grandfather, Ludka's brother, was imprisoned and then exiled in the USSR, as was Feliks. But my grandfather died, and is buried near Bukhara on the silk road. (Probably of amoebic dysentery.) Feliks survived, and managed to get to Tehran, where he became colonel in command of the evacuation centre there. But none of the surviving family members in Poland knew this. Then he fought at Monte Cassino.

Ludmila was arrested - as the wife of a Polish officer - and sent to Bergen Belsen, where she died towards the end of the war in 1944. I met a Czerkawski relative in Poland in the 1970s who had been there with her. 'She just gave up' she told me.

My father came to the UK with the army, also via Italy, after many terrible experiences. I was amazed to discover that Feliks had been in Scotland for a time, which is where I am now living and working. And that he had married again, in 1948. He must have discovered by that time that Ludmila was dead, although it took people a long time to connect with family again, if they ever did.

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