From time to time I am asked to research either Polish or Czech personnel who served in World War 2 fighting alongside the British. Usually these requests relate to the army or the RAF.
Polish and Czech personnel made up the largest portion of non-British (and Commonwealth) servicemen and some of the notes below also apply to the “foreign minorities” serving alongside the British say Caribbean etc.
There are three main ways in which “foreign” personnel enlisted in these units:
- The “foreign” individual enlisted voluntarily into the British Armed Forces on a private basis. Sometimes when this type of enlistment occurs it can be considered illegal or causes a loss of the original citizenship depending upon the laws of the individual’s original country. If the individual enlisted into the “loosing” side then the consequences can be severe but here we are dealing with an Allied victory.
- The “foreign” individual enlisted into the pre-war armed forces of their native country and then made their way to the UK. Once in the UK they then came under the respective “Government in Exile”.
- The “foreign” individual enlisted into the armed forces of their country of origin but under the auspices of a “Government in Exile” whilst in the UK. This situation tended to occur when an individual left their native country and made their way to the UK. Once here they then enlisted into the Army / Air Force of their respective Government in Exile.
Therefore, as you can see researching this type of personnel is more difficult than British personnel. It must also be realised that the units under the Governments in Exile (Polish, Czech etc.) usually operated under the operational control of the British Armed Forces. For example, there were Polish Squadrons operating under the operational control of the RAF but they came under their own “Government in Exile” for administrative purposes.
Currently, the WW2 Service Records for British personnel are gradually being transferred to The National Archives. However, the situation regarding Polish / Czech etc. personnel is unknown. Therefore, my advice is to contact the last known location for this type of record which is:
APC Disclosures 5 (Polish),Building 1 (Ops), RAF Northolt, West End Road, Ruislip, Middlesex, HA4 6NG