Beefsteak 305 Posted April 14, 2011 Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 Facinating and truely remarkable piece of history. Many thanks to Derek (dgbrit) for sending me these pics , any more will be much appreciated. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Limey 242 Posted April 14, 2011 Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 Now THAT is cool! Very impressive, thanks for sharing it with us! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dgbrit 258 Posted April 14, 2011 Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 Thanks Beefsteak for posting the pics My Dad lived in Nottingham for about 40 yrs then moved to N, Hykeham Lincs He didnt talk much about the war but said he could have done a lot more hours in the log book if he didnt keep getting arrested for impersonating a pilot, The reason being he was only a sargent Then a Warrent Officer non of wich usually wore wings on there uniforms + he had a car a Rolls Royce that he bought for 10 pounds, He would get pulled over & would have to wait for the RAF to come & get him out of jail. http://www.polishsquadronsremembered.com/315/45/after.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted April 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 And the man himself. Have we got a name for him please Derek ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dgbrit 258 Posted April 14, 2011 Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 Wlodzimierz Valentine Gaczol born on Valentines day 1919 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Limey 242 Posted April 14, 2011 Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 So he was EXACTLY two years younger than my mum! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ayupmeducks 1,730 Posted April 14, 2011 Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 I copied that photo, I'll spend a little time each day and restore it, when done I'll post it here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted April 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 A hint at what it could look like. Wlodzimierz Valentine Gaczol. Hero Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ayupmeducks 1,730 Posted April 14, 2011 Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 I restored a panoramic photo, B&W, for the Son of a WW2 vet. It was his Fathers during his basic training in Washington. There must have been a couple of hundred GI's in the photo, which was really showing it's age. The old feller received it as a birthday gift and was over the moon at seeing a photo that looked like it was taken yesterday. I spent many, many hours working on that project. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dgbrit 258 Posted April 14, 2011 Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 Thanks guys for working on that photo it is falling apart & was taped to a postcard a long time ago A little more about my dad it seems like he was fairly well off in Poland as he was already a pilot by the time the Germans invaded He escaped by stealing a plane along with his brother & flew to France where he joined the RAF, His brother Joseph joined the army & was in tanks & is still living in Fort Meyers Florida They were never able to go back to see their family in Poland because they would have been imprisoned or executed, Even having a medal could get you shot that is why there are so few medals. I do have his Cross of Valor & a few others i dont know what they are. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted April 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 No probs Derek. As I said that was just a quick half hour on PS elements 8 , I'm sure John ((Ayupmeducks) can do a lot better with his system . Any more photos would be much appreciated , even photos of the medals as it may help me to identify them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted April 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 Some other people on another site I use have been doing a little bit of scouting around on our behalf and so far these little quirks have turned up :- A quater of the way down could be a mention of your dad (No photo I'm afraid) http://www.polishsquadronsremembered.com/315/p_list.html Opps from Northolt http://orb.polishaf.pl/315sqn/1942-11/1942-10-no-315-squadron-f540 And in these two are references to a Sgt Gaczol !! http://orb.polishaf.pl/315sqn/1942-11/1942-10-no-315-squadron-f540 http://orb.polishaf.pl/315sqn/1942-11/1942-05-no-315-squadron-f540 And I quote from the other site "Is it the same person? with the dates matching in the logbook, I feel their is more than a strong possibility and the dates match exactly the day he joined the Sqd on the website with no picture available" The other site is http://www.fightercontrol.co.uk I've added a link to here from there too, so we may get a bit of cross field traffic in the next couple of days. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Limey 242 Posted April 15, 2011 Report Share Posted April 15, 2011 I may be down in Naples, FL in th next week or two - it isn't far to Ft. Myers, in fact I have good friends there. If your uncle would like a visitor with links to his nephew, let me know! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dgbrit 258 Posted April 15, 2011 Report Share Posted April 15, 2011 I have emailed Beefsteak a few more pages with lots more Spitfire #s + the other aircraft flown My dad went on to be a Instructor on the Magister & Oxford twin engined aircraft Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted April 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2011 Thanks Derek, (It took me a while to remember how to open a zip file, then shift them to my Photo Album, then to Flickr, then to here !! No worries though , they're well worth the effort . Any more ?? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted April 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2011 The rest (for now!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dgbrit 258 Posted April 16, 2011 Report Share Posted April 16, 2011 Yes there are a total of 1200 + hrs in this log book Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mick2me 3,033 Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Thanks for that DGBrit and Ian, and nice job on the image restoration. Regarding Polish Pilots, Correct me if I am wrong. But they refused to fly their spitfires in the traditional RAF diamond formation, as it made them an easy target Quote Link to post Share on other sites
firbeck 859 Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Great stuff! Czech film, I know, but has anyone watched 'Dark Blue World', there are similarities, it's very reminiscent of the way that the Eastern European pilots, many of whom had combat experience, were treated by the rigid principles of the early wartime RAF, and has anyone looked up the Spit/Hurri reg numbers to see if any are still extant or even flying, could be interesting. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dgbrit 258 Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 He used to say the diamond formation was to hard to fly & wore you out , So easy to crash into each other Also when escorting bombers do not not on any account get too close as you will get shot at especially the yanks He was also listed as a bellow average pilot in the logbook so they made him a flying instructor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted April 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 I have just received a contact from a man in Denmark, via my Flickr account, regarding the possibility of any more pictures from the log book, as he is doing research regarding Spitfire/Hurricane pilots from WW2 and after. I have also received some details of sites to search to ID the medals if you've got any pics of those Derek Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ashley 288 Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 I met an old Pole maybe 10 years ago, lived in a big corner house on Porchester Road, went to replace a ball valve as I recall, anyway he had various photos of him in uniform and we got talking, think a pilot in fleet air arm, not the RAF? whatever, he got talking and he got round to telling of a sub he bombed, next minute he's crying his eyes out, quite hysterical, kept repeating "all those men I kill" got quite worried at one point as on his own and not sure whether to leave him, just goes to show despite what the Germans did in Poland it was still on his mind. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mick2me 3,033 Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 There was a Polish Guy around there on the CB in the early 80's. Handle of "Brush Man", Remember him Ian? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mary1947 2,082 Posted July 20, 2017 Report Share Posted July 20, 2017 Just found the log book even though I don't know much about planes I must admit found post very interesting, My friends used to work on one of the last Spitfire's left which used to be based at Roll's Royce on Watnall Road Hucknall Have got a photo of master sitting in the cockpit this was just before it crashed killing the pilot and smashing up the Spitfire. Well done to all members who helped put this post on N/N. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
catfan 14,793 Posted July 20, 2017 Report Share Posted July 20, 2017 Ther was a bus driver at Bulwell Depot who flew Spifires in the war & decided to stay in Nottm when the war ended, he could handle a bus well ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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