SOBIECKI, Olgierd Tadeusz Stefan

Pilot Stats:

rank: F/L
status: survived
airforce: RAF    (no: P0549 )
born: Kartuzy Poland

added by: Karen Sobiecki

RAF Spitfire Pilot and instructor F/L Olgierd TS Sobiecki RAF P-0549 born in Kartuzy, Poland on 22 December 1917 son of "Emil" Nestor Sobiecki (first Starost Kartuzy) and Wanda "Cyryla" Grosman. Graduated Deblin "School of Eaglets" 13th Promotion No. 73 in June 1939. Promoted to Lieutenant and flew with PAF until 3 September when he was evacuated from Ułęż Poland via Rumania. The airmen travelled on foot and mostly at night to avoid the enemy. They crossed into Rumania at Śniatyń on September 17 where they were detained and sent to a Rumanian Internment Camp in Slatina. Escaping the camp he was in a small group of fellow airmen who got to Bucharest obtained forged documents and made it to Balcic (a port on the Black Sea). On October 15, 1939 he boarded the Agios Nicolas for Beirut, Lebanon arriving on October 21st. The next day they boarded the French Ship "Ville de Strasbourg" and sailed for Marseille arriving in the harbor on October 29th and embarking on October 30th. Originally sent to Salon de Provence Airbase for training Olgierd was assigned to Lyons-Bron Airbase in late November or December 1939. While in Lyon-Bron Olgierd was sick enough to be hospitalized (most likely at the Military hospital in Lyon the "Hôpital Militaire Desgenettes" from which he was released on 13 January 1940. On March 1st he was assigned to the airbase in Pau for further training.

Following the "fall of France" in 1940 small groups the Polish pilots escaped to the south of France where various routes were taken to get to England. Based on some handwritten notes from Olgierd (at age 80) and recently some detailed information from a couple of Polish historians the most probable route would be from Port Vendres (a small port city on the Mediterranean on the French/Spanish border) on the ship "SS Governeur Generale Chanzy" to Oran, Algier on the North African coast then overland by train to the west African port of Casablanca and from there to Gibraltar on the SS Gibel-Dersa. Once in Gibraltar they boarded the HMS Neuralia a British Transport Ship for the journey to England where Olgierd's RAF documents confirm he arrived on 12 July 1940. Initial refresher training with 12 Group took place in Hucknall at the EFTS followed by more training in Ushworth with the 55 OTU and Grangemouth, Falkirk, Scotland where he trained on damaged and salvaged Spitfires from the Battle of Britain and graduated from 58 O.T.U. No. 14 Course in December 1941.

Assigned to RAF Polish 308 (December 1941) - RAF Polish 303 - RAAF Australian 453 and RAF Polish 306. In December 1942 he was assigned to the RAF No. 25 (Polish) E.P.T.S. Hucknall, where he trained pilots on the Spitfire until June of 1945 when he was transferred to the RAF 16 (Polish) S.F.T.S. He married in England in 1947 and immigrated to Canada in July 1948 as part of the Polish Resettlement Act of 1947 where he raised his family. Olgierd Sobiecki died in Delta, British Columbia Canada on 24 October 2002.