Last surviving Polish Battle of Britain pilot dies

Brigadier General Tadeusz Sawicz – one of 145 Polish pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain – dies in Toronto aged 97

The last surviving Polish pilot who fought in the Battle of Britain has died at the age of 97, according to a Canadian funeral home.

Turner and Porter funeral directors said that Brigadier General Tadeusz Sawicz died on 19 October at a nursing home in Toronto.

Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza daily said Sawicz was the last surviving pilot among the Poles who served in Britain's Royal Air Force during the second world war, and fought in the 1940 battle. He served with the RAF until early 1947.

In 1939, Sawicz fought in Poland's defence against the Nazis. He flew under German fire to carry orders to troops defending Warsaw.

Following the collapse of the city's defence on 17 September, he joined Polish pilots fighting in France, but after Paris's surrender in July he made his way with tens of thousands of Polish airmen, soldiers and sailors to Britain, making up the largest foreign military force in the country.

Later that year, General Wladyslaw Sikorski, who was the head of Poland's government in exile in London, signed an agreement with the British government to form a Polish Air Force in Britain, in which Sawicz was to play his part.

After training on Hurricane fighter aircraft, he was incorporated into RAF squadron 303 and later into squadrons 316 and 315. On and off, he served as a commander of the Polish wing.

Sawicz was among the 145 Polish pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain, 31 of whom died in action. Other foreign pilots from New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Czechoslovakia, South Africa, the United States and Ireland also flew with the RAF.

A few British pilots from the battle are still alive, but it is not known how many of the international aviators are left.

During his time as an RAF pilot, Sawicz is credited with shooting down three German aircraft. He was awarded Poland's highest military order – the Virtuti Militari medal – and the Distinguished Flying Cross from Britain, the United States and the Netherlands.

Sawicz had lived since 1957 in Canada, where he worked for aviation companies. He is survived by his wife, Jadwiga. A service is planned for him in Warsaw.

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