Library Reference Number: 087
A Brief Warsaw Encounter
In the Spring of 1949, I was with RAF Transport Command at Oakington. The Berlin Airlift was drawing to a close and route flying was the norm. As Station Operations Officer, part of my duty was to ensure that all navigation aids on restricted area routes were made available to the crews. I also had to fly all the routes to ensure all was correct.
The route that interested me most was the Buckeburg - Berlin - Warsaw which involved a night stop in Berlin before going on next day through a ten-mile broad corridor to Warsaw. The reason for the trip to Warsaw was to take the King's Messenger with diplomatic mail to the embassy and bring odd delicacies such as kippers for the Ambassador.
Severe restrictions were placed on the flight. We were restricted to a twenty-minute time limit on crossing the East German - Polish border at Frankfurt on Oder in either crossing. If for any reason including weather or technical failure, we could not cross at the designated time, the flight had to be aborted until the next allocated day.
On arrival at Warsaw, we were escorted to a room where our identity cards were taken from us and were returned to us about twenty minutes later. What they did with them, I have no idea. We were then escorted to the buffet in the airport where we were met by the Air Attaché who bought us our lunch (beer and roll sandwiches). The people in the airport looked sullen and fearful and seemed frightened even to look at us. On one of my visits, however, when I was standing at the bar, a man sidled up to me, shook my hand and said "I was in England during the war with the Polish Air Force."
Before I could gather my wits, he had disappeared into the crowd. I still think of the courage it took for him to make that gesture. I felt miserable when I thought of the reason we went to war was to free Poland and how the Poles had fought so bravely during the Battle of Britain, Monte Cassino, Arnhem and the Warsaw Uprising. They were betrayed and left under Stalin, probably a worse tyrant that Hitler. Stalin had requested that the Poles did not take part in the London Victory Parade and a shameful British Government acquiesced. It was the FINAL BETRAYAL and this brief encounter has haunted me ever since.