Relationship | with Living
|
| Birth |
29 Mar 1916 |
Berlin, , Berlin, Germany  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Military |
- «b»Col Alfons Wiktor Mackowiak «/b»
At the request of RBL Head Office GLD Standards were in attendance for the funeral of Col Alfons Wiktor Mackowiak, postumosly promoted to rank of General. His citation reads as follows:-
'Outstanding officer: distinguished himself by his
exceptional bravery and his qualifications of a
soldier throughout the campaign, especially 2nd
and 14th June 1940 at Fremestroff, 15th at
Alberstroff and 16th at Dieuze, where he did not
cease commanding the fire of his battery, in spite
of violent shooting of enemy artillery, giving best
example to the gunners. On 17th June he
dispersed an adverse company which was
attacking positions and on the 18th forced the
enemy to evacuate Embermenil, which they had
taken. The present mention includes the award of
the War Cross with Brass Star"
Captured by Germans, interned for a period in
Strasbourg. Escaped through Vichy France and
Spain to Gibraltar.
Boat to Britain, arrived in Liverpool trained in tanks
before volunteering for the Polish parachute forces
at Upper Largo.
Selected for training as an agent with SOE, then
becoming an instructor with SOE.
Transferred in 1942 to Polish section of SOE (Special Operations Executive) to Audley End House, near Saffron Waldon, Essex, known as Station 43 (STS 43). Instructor in small arms, PT and unarmed combat, 1942-44. Sworn in SOE Cichociemny (Silent & Unseen). Return to action Monday 18th September 1944 at Arnhem. Flew from Manston by glider chalk number 890 as part of Polish Parachute Brigade Advance HQ, piloted by Staff Sergeant John 'Johnny' Cotterill and Sergeant Max Maxwell. Now with the rank of Captain.
Fought with distinction as the Polish Artillery Liaison Officer attached to the RA. Operation Market Garden. Sniper hunting in the woods of Oosterbeek and directing allied artillery fire in the Oosterbeek perimeter. Wounded.
At conclusion of the Battle of Arnhem, captured and POW at Oflag 1XA at Spangenberg, Germany.
Liberated by Americans 4 May 1945.
Received his third Krzyz Waleczny.
In total during the Second World War he received no less than 14 medals.
In 2009 - Awarded the highest medal of bravery by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
Demobbed in Fife in July 1947. Remained in the U.K.
His peacetime record: entered a burning
Wellington bomber rescuing the pilot and crew.
Awarded a Commendation by King George V1,
in recognition of his bravery and courageous
action in extricating the pilot from the blazing
Wellington on 11th July 1950. Published in
Supplement to the Evening Gazette, Tuesday,
24th April 1951.
He was the last living SOE Cichociemny (Silent
&Unseen) living in the U.K.'
«i»All above details to be credited to: Mr. Graham Francis and Kristina Jardel Havard of the Arnhem Fellowship, UK. «/i»
«i»Obituaries not a regular feature and are published in GLD newsletters, for exceptional cases. «/i»
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| Obituary |
- A Polish Second World War general who took part in Operation Market Garden and was a PE teacher in Bishop's Stortford for seven years has been commemorated.
General Alfons Mackowiak, also known as Alan Mack, was a member of the 1st Independent Parachute Brigade and served in the Polish defence against Nazi Germany's invasion in 1939, the battle for France after escaping the fall of Poland, and Operation Market Garden in 1944.
He stayed in Britain following the war after a communist government was installed in Poland.
Mackowiak, who lived in Saffron Walden, was also an instructor to The Silent Unseen, a group of Polish elite special operations paratroopers who were formed in exile in Britain.
After finishing his military career at the rank of captain, he was later promoted to general after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
He ran a guest house in Essex before becoming a PE teacher at Bishop's Stortford College.
He worked at the college from 1957 until 1964, after which he spent 25 years working at the University of Oxford.
During a ceremony at Oxford University a plaque was unveiled by the Polish Ambassador, Arkady Rzegocki.
It honours his army career and his contribution to British athletics, both in Bishop's Stortford and Oxford.
Ambassador Rzegocki said: "I hope that this plaque will remind everyone of this great individual dedicated to the importance of sport and well-being of youth, who had such an enormous influence on many lives.
"But I also strongly believe that this plaque would be also a desire of general Mackowiak, serving as a reminder about the many Poles who made Great Britain their home after the Second World War, when they could not come back to a free Poland."
Thousands of Poles remained in Britain following the war because they did not want to return to communist Poland after the end of the war.
Alfons Mackowiak was posthumously promoted to the rank of brigadier general by the president of Poland Andrzej Duda after his death in January, 2017.
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| Wikipedia |
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pl&u=https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfons_Ma%25C4%2587kowiak&prev=search&pto=aue |
- Alfons Wiktor Mackowiak , also known as Alan Mack (born on March 29, 1916 in Berlin , died on January 31, 2017 in London ) - artillery officer of the Polish Army of the Second Polish Republic , captain of the Polish Armed Forces , soldier of the 1st Independent Parachute Brigade [1] , after the 2nd during the World War, a Polish diaspora activist in England , posthumously promoted to the rank of Brigadier General [1] .
Curriculum vitae
He was born on March 29, 1916, in the family of Wiktor, commandant of the State Police Station in Poznan . In his youth he trained gymnastics in Poznan's " Sokole" , he was also one of the top field hockey players. He also trained boxing under Feliks Stamm [2] . In 1935– 1936 he was a student of the Artillery Reserve Officer Cadet School in Wlodzimierz Wolynski, and in 1936– 1938 a student of the Artillery Officer Cadet School in Torun. After graduating he was appointed to the rank of second lieutenant with seniority from 1 October 1938 and 135. deposit in the body of artillery officers and conscripted into 32 light artillery squadron in Rembertów the position of platoon commander in the 1st Battery[3] . In August 1939, during emergency mobilization, he was assigned to the reserve 32 light artillery regiment for the position of scouting officer of the 9th battery.
He fought in this position during the September 1939 campaign, and then took command of a light artillery battery. He took part in the defense of Rózan and the battles on the Bug . After the USSR's aggression against Poland, he was taken into Soviet captivity , from which he escaped to Hungary , where he was interned . From Hungary he got to France , where he participated in the Battle of Lagarde as the commander of the 2nd battery platoon of the 1st Vilnius Light Artillery Regiment [1]. He was again captured, this time German, and imprisoned in a prisoner-of-war camp in Strasbourg, from which he escaped after a week [2] . Thanks to his knowledge of French, he managed to get to the unoccupied part of France .
From 1941 he was in Great Britain . He served in the 1st Independent Parachute Brigade , and in 1942 he enrolled in a Cichociemni course , after which he was detained in the center as a physical training instructor. He specialized in subversive activities, fitness exercises, combat sports, and in eliminating the enemy with bare hands [2] . From September 1944, he again served in the 1st Independent Parachute Brigade [1] . He participated in Operation "Market-Garden" , during which on September 18, 1944 he landed the Horsa glider near Arnhem . During the operation he served radio stations, served in securityckm -ui was a paramedic . On September 25 he was wounded and captured in German captivity in Oosterbeek . From October 31, 1944 to April 2, 1945, he was a prisoner of Oflag IX A Spangenberg [4] . After returning to Great Britain in April 1945, he returned to the 1st Independent Parachute Brigade. In July 1946, he was assigned to the 4th Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment as commander of the 1st Division. He was demobilized in December 1947 in the rank of captain [1] .
After the end of military service, he underwent a hotel training course and until 1957 he ran a guest house in Essex . Then, at the suggestion of the teacher's wife, he became a teacher himself, he taught physical education at Bishop's Stortford College, and from 1964 for the next 25 years he worked as a coach of the athletics club of Oxford University . For many years he also worked socially at the Polish Social and Cultural Center in London [4] . In 2000 he was promoted to the rank of colonel [1] .
In 2003 he was involved in the organization of the 11th World Polonia Games in Poznan. On the Malta Lake during the opening ceremony he took the oath on behalf of the athletes [2] .
In 2007 he took part in the production of a documentary film dir. Joanna Pieciukiewicz Fri. " Honor of the General" , dedicated to the figure of General Stanislaw Sosabowski (organizer of the 1st Independent Parachute Brigade) [5] [4] .
He died on January 31, 2017. On February 16, 2017, President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda , at the request of the Minister of National Defense Antoni Macierewicz , posthumously promoted Alfons Mackowiak to the rank of Brigadier General [6] [1] .
On Parachutist's Day, September 23, 2017, the ceremonial funeral of Alfons Mackowiak took place in Warsaw, after which his ashes were buried at the Powazki Military Cemetery [7] [8] (section D20 columbarium I-2-2) [9] .
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| Name |
Alan Mack |
| _UID |
A498F84C46C84CDF810D61A4E0EAAC85473B |
| Death |
31 Jan 2017 |
London, , Greater London, England |
Origins |
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| Headstones |
 Submit Headstone Photo |
| Person ID |
I73559 |
The Family Maw |
| Last Modified |
28 Jun 2020 |
English
1916 - 2017 (100 years) 
Has no ancestors and no descendants in this family tree.
Set As Default Person 
1908 - 1995 (86 years)
Shores, Velena May
