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OBITUARY: Richard Polanski, WWII veteran from Dunbeath who was 'always Polish at heart'


By David G Scott

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The family of Richard Polanski from Dunbeath paid tribute to him after his death last month at the age of 101 and provided the following details on his life.

Richard Polanski (Ryzard Jan Polanski) was born on December 9, 1921, in the city of Lvov in eastern Poland which is now known as Lviv in Ukraine. His parents were Stanislav (director of the Eastern Sector Polish Railways) and Rosalia (a tailoress). He was one of a family of seven children.

He was a very active youngster (as he was throughout his life) – he was a Boy Scout and enjoyed mountaineering, gliding and sailing. He enjoyed school and aspired to go to university and become a teacher. World War II thwarted those ambitions, however, and much to his father’s annoyance he joined the resistance movement and eventually had to flee Poland, escaping through eastern Europe to France to join the Free Polish Army. His real intention was to join the RAF as a pilot.

In 2021 Richard Polanski was awarded a special promotion from the Polish President Andrzej Duda, given on his behalf by the embassy staff who had travelled from their base in Edinburgh. Richard shed a tear at the event as he thought back to his childhood in Poland and remembered the songs his mother taught him. Picture: DGS
In 2021 Richard Polanski was awarded a special promotion from the Polish President Andrzej Duda, given on his behalf by the embassy staff who had travelled from their base in Edinburgh. Richard shed a tear at the event as he thought back to his childhood in Poland and remembered the songs his mother taught him. Picture: DGS

Richard left the army, and did join the RAF, spending six months in training. However, he met up with his brother Zbigniew in the UK who was serving on Polish submarines based at Dundee. Richard decided to join the Polish Free Navy, serving on destroyers, and was trained as a gunner at Portsmouth. He saw active service in the Mediterranean, particularly at the Siege of Malta. One ship was active at Dunkirk and he also served on the North Atlantic Convoys and Arctic Convoys to Murmansk. Ships names he served on include ORPs Burza, Kujawiak, Poirun and Blyskawica. The Poirun was involved in the hunt for the famous German battleship Bismarck, and he was probably the last WW2 servicemen still alive to see its sinking.

In another incident, he and another Poirun crew member were on guard duty on the deck of the battleship Duke of York during the Clydebank Blitz, the battleship was targeted by German bombers with incendiary bombs, their solution was to pour sand on the bombs and kick them off the deck of the ship into the Clyde. There is still a memorial to that incident standing in Clydebank, where the Poirun's crew are mentioned as saving the town. There was a recent memorial service in Clydebank where Richard was guest of honour. He was greatly affected by the huge loss of life during the war, and it left him with a great desire for peace.

Richard Polanski on board the patrol boat HMS Example. Richard was guest of honour when the Northumbria Universities vessel visited Wick harbour in 2018. Picture: DGS
Richard Polanski on board the patrol boat HMS Example. Richard was guest of honour when the Northumbria Universities vessel visited Wick harbour in 2018. Picture: DGS

Richard was often based at Scapa Flow, Greenock and sometimes Portsmouth. His ship used to dock at John Brown’s Shipyard on the Clyde to replenish stores. It was on one of those visits, enjoying some shore leave that he met the love of his life, Joyce, at a dance at the Kelvingrove Bandstand in Glasgow. Richard and Joyce were married in 1945 in Glasgow and shared 66 years of happy marriage. Richard said they danced together for their 66 years. They were blessed with a family of six: Victor, Lucia, Evelyn, Janet and the twins Richard and Johnny. Lucia passed away earlier this year and her ashes were interred in the family grave at Berriedale Cemetery.

Richard Polanski at his home in Dunbeath.
Richard Polanski at his home in Dunbeath.

After the war, Richard worked in various jobs in Glasgow, but when his father-in-law John Rosie (art critic with the Glasgow Herald) retired in 1948 the decision was made to move to Wick where John Rosie had been born. When the croft at Knockinnon, Dunbeath, became available this was purchased and the family moved there in 1950.

Knockinnon was a very simple house, like most Caithness croft houses. It had three rooms and a tiny scullery, with a couple of barns tucked on the end of the house and no garden at all, just bare open fields. With John Rosie's help, Richard adapted, extended and improved the house until it became a comfortable home.

In 2021, Richard Polanski was awarded a special promotion from the Polish President Andrzej Duda, given on his behalf by the embassy staff. From left, Polish defence attaché Colonel Mieczysław Malec, Richard Polanski wearing his honorary naval hat, and Polish warrant officer Krzysztof Stolarczyk. Picture: DGS
In 2021, Richard Polanski was awarded a special promotion from the Polish President Andrzej Duda, given on his behalf by the embassy staff. From left, Polish defence attaché Colonel Mieczysław Malec, Richard Polanski wearing his honorary naval hat, and Polish warrant officer Krzysztof Stolarczyk. Picture: DGS
Friends, family and Polish embassy staff assemble at Dunbeath after honours were bestowed on Richard Polanski in 2021. Picture: DGS
Friends, family and Polish embassy staff assemble at Dunbeath after honours were bestowed on Richard Polanski in 2021. Picture: DGS

He worked building pylons, salmon fishing, road construction, with various contractors and at the construction of the atomic energy site at Dounreay. Eventually, he got a post at Dounreay and on retiral took up a job at Caithness Glass Factory in Wick. He still had to find time to run Knockinnon croft with cows sheep and poultry, corn, hay and potatoes to look after.

Richard always seemed to have boundless strength and energy, and was always happy to take advice from other crofters and also happily lend a hand to his neighbours when needed. The children's hobbies were encouraged and well supported by their parents no matter what they were. Without Richard's help, his eldest son Victor's prolific cycle racing career would never have happened at all, willingly driving him to cycle races all over Scotland, always taking great pleasure when he won, and an "absolutely merciless critic" when he didn’t.

Richard was very active and would lay slab paths, fell trees, cook his own meals and drove his own car up to the age of 99. He became involved with the Royal British Legion Scotland and at the age of 96 he travelled with local members to Australia to celebrate Anzac Day.

Richard in the royal tent at last year's Mey Games. Picture: DGS
Richard in the royal tent at last year's Mey Games. Picture: DGS

His ability to switch from speaking English to speaking Polish and back again always surprised and delighted his family. He had very strong memories of his life in old Poland before the war. His love of his mother country never faded, and he was much loved by all his relatives still living there.

At his funeral there were two flags on his coffin, the Scottish flag, for his adopted country, and the Polish Flag because he was always Polish at heart. In Richard's 100th year, the Polish Government awarded him with the Knight's Cross – Poland’s highest military award – for his service during the Second World War.

At his funeral service it was stated that "Richard Polanski was quite unique, very much a one-off, much loved by his family and by the community he lived in".

Richard Polanski, left, is congratulated by Colonel Malec from the Polish embassy in 2021 during a special award ceremony. Picture: DGS
Richard Polanski, left, is congratulated by Colonel Malec from the Polish embassy in 2021 during a special award ceremony. Picture: DGS

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