World of Military Bóg, Honor, Ojczyzna ("God, Honor, Fatherland")

By the beginning of 1941 there was a fully fledged Polish Air Force operating alongside the RAF. With 14 Squadrons it was larger than any other of the Air Force from Nazi-occupied Europe that had joined the Allies. Over 17,000 men and women passed through the ranks of the Polish Air Force while it was stationed in the UK. They shot down 745 enemy aircraft, with a further 175 unconfirmed. They dropped thousands of bombs and laid hundreds of mines, flying 102,486 sorties notching up a total of 290,895 operation flying hours. They achieved this at a cost of 1,973 killed and 1,388 wounded. They won 342 British gallantry awards

In this 4 hour Broadcast Jamie and Mackie will be visiting RAF Northolt,RAF Ingham and Blackpool (Layton) Cemetery During the Second World War, there were units of the Polish forces stationed at Blackpool and the Polish Air Force had its headquarters at Talbot Square and loads more
This is not to be missed..

 

coming soon ..

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In this show we will be taking a look at the following areas

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Polish Air Force Memorial - At Junction with Western Avenue, West End Road, Ruislip, Hillingdon, HA4 6QX

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polish-bomber-squadron-trail (raf ingham ,Raf hemwell ,Raf Faldingworth, Rad Dunholme lodge , Raf Swingderby, Newark ceetery)

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Newark Cemetery - 1sw, 41 Elm Ave, Newark NG24 1SW

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During the Second World War there were a number of R.A.F. stations within a few miles of Newark, from many of which operated squadrons of the Polish Air Force. A special plot was set aside in Newark Cemetery for R.A.F. burials and this is now the war graves plot, where all but ten of the 90 Commonwealth and all of the 397 Polish burials were made. The cemetery also contains 49 scattered burials of the First World War. A memorial cross to the Polish airmen buried here was erected in the plot and was unveiled in 1941 by President Raczkiewicz, ex-President of the Polish Republic and head of the war time Polish Government in London, supported by General Sikorski, Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Forces and war time Polish Prime Minister. When both men subsequently died, General Sikorski in 1943 and President Raczkiewicz in 1947, they were buried at the foot of the Polish Memorial. General Sikorski's remains were returned to Poland in 1993, but there is still a memorial to him at Newark.

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Raf ingham - Middle St, Fillingham, Gainsborough DN21 5BU

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RAF Ingham (later known as RAF Cammeringham) was a Royal Air Force station used by RAF Bomber Command between 1942 and 1944 and by training units and the Polish Air Force until 1946. The first squadron (Sqn) to be based at RAF Ingham was No. 300 Polish Bomber Sqn who arrived in May 1942 from RAF Hemswell.

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Raf Hemwell - In the corner of the former central parade ground on the site of the former RAF Station
Hemswell
Middle Street
Hemswell Cliff
West Lindsey
Lincolnshire
DN21 5TJ
England

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Station History

The first airfield on the site was opened in December 1918 by the Royal Flying Corps and called RFCS Harpswell after the village of that name just across the A631. It was initially used by the RFC as a night landing ground and in 1918, No.199 and No.200 Training Squadrons were established at the airfield. Shortly after the end of WWI the site returned to farmland. A new RAF Station, now called Hemswell, was built in the 1930's to a very high standard and was one of a number of permanent bases being built to accommodate the then rapidly expanding RAF. Bomber Command was formed in 1936 and on 31st December 1936, Hemswell was opened as one of the first airfields within No.5 Group of the newly formed Command.

No.144 Squadron arrived on 9th February and No.61 Squadron on 8th March 1937, equipped with Avro Anson and Hawker Audax aircraft. Bristol Blenheim's replaced these by January 1938 and they were completely re-equipped with Handley Page Hampden's by 20th March 1939. Both Squadrons took part in the very earliest operations of the war. No. 144 Squadron suffered an early loss on the 29th of September 1939, when a formation of five Hampden's were all shot down over Heligoland. Five men were saved to spend the rest of the war in prison camps and fifteen were killed, including Ronald Herd whose sister, Mrs Kath Edgson of Horncastle, Lincolnshire, was invited to unveil the RAF Hemswell Memorial in 1995. Hemswell's Hampden's are credited with being the first Bomber Command aircraft to drop bombs on German soil.

From July 1941 to February 1944, Hemswell, now in No.1 Group, and its satellite airfield at RAF Ingham, were home at various times to No.300, No.301 and No.305 Polish Air Force Squadrons, equipped with Wellington's . No.199 RAF Squadron equipped with Wellington's also operated from Ingham from February to June 1943. They all played a very important part in the bomber offensive of that period and suffered heavy losses. The last of the Polish Squadrons moved from Hemswell to Ingham in late 1943 to enable concrete runways to be laid and so bring the airfield up to Class A Standard. Hemswell reopened in January 1944 and No.1 Lancaster Finishing School used the base until, with the arrival of No.150 & No.170 Lancaster Squadrons in November 1944, Hemswell resumed operations against the enemy. The last hostile operation from Hemswell was on 25th April 1945, the target being the SS Barracks at Berchtesgaden. From 29th April final war operations were of a more humane nature, when No.150 and No.170 Squadrons took part in Operation Manna, dropping food to the starving Dutch people prior to final surrender on VE Day, 8th of May 1945. From then until their disbandment in November 1945, No.150 and No.170 Squadrons used their Lancaster's, firstly to transport ex-POWs back to the UK, and then to collect long-serving 8th Army men from Italy to well-earned leave in the UK.

The much longer Cold War brought Mosquitos of No.109 and No.139 Squadrons who stayed until November 1946. In 1950, No.109 and No.139 Squadron Mosquitos returned, converting onto Canberras in 1952 and finally leaving Hemswell in January 1956. Lincolns of No.83, No.100 and No.97 Squadrons arrived in October/November 1946. No.100 Squadron moved away in 1950 but both No.83 and No.97 Squadrons remained at Hemswell until December 1955. No.199 Squadron operated from April 1952 to September 1957 equipped at various times with Lincolns, Mosquitos, Canberras and Valiant's. No.76 and No.542 Squadrons operated from April 1957 to July 1958 equipped with Canberras.

No.97 Squadron returned in 1959 for a further four years, but this time equipped with Douglas Thor Missiles when Hemswell became the lead Station of a group of five missile sites. They were all on full alert, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and at that time, RAF Hemswell had a large contingent of Americans who partnered their RAF counterparts and lived among the personnel on the station. After the Thor missiles were withdrawn in 1963, the Americans left and the missiles were returned to the USA where most of them were used in the US Space Program.

Following on from Thor, Hemswell was earmarked to return to a flying role when it was decided to move the final development stage of the ill-fated TSR.2 project to Hemswell. In the early autumn of 1964 the whole TSR.2 project team was posted from Weybridge to Hemswell where they occupied the old Thor site. The first pilot training course on TSR.2 avionics systems began in November 1964, with the second course under way when the project was suddenly cancelled in the March 1965 Budget. Hemswell's future could have been very different with the return of real aeroplanes, but it was not to be and final RAF use was as No.1 Recruit Training School and the Station ceased all RAF activities in 1967.

RAF Station Hemswell, having started life as a peacetime Station in 1937, quickly settled back into its peacetime role as a permanent part of the local community after WWII. Further married quarters were built and RAF Hemswell School was established to cater for the children of RAF families. Because of its air of permanence and relative comfort, Hemswell became a very popular posting.

In May 1967, the RAF switched off the lights, closed the gates and the base entered a very unhappy period and its handsome buildings were to be sadly neglected for many years. In 1972 the station became the temporary Hemswell Resettlement Camp when it received Ugandan-Asian refugees expelled from Uganda by president Idi Amin. Some years later, a group of entrepreneurs decided to try to rescue the site and turn it into a trading estate. Although not preserved as a museum, the old road layout has been retained and most of the buildings have been restored for various new uses. To the delight of returning veterans in recent years, Hemswell is perhaps the only pre-war RAF Station converted to private use, which has retained its character and still has an unmistakable Royal Air Force feel to it.

In 1995, the RAF Hemswell Memorial was erected on the edge of the old parade ground to commemorate all who served there during its thirty-year life as a Royal Air Force Bomber Command base. The memorial is also an important piece of local history and records the successful transition of a former Bomber Command airfield with its married quarters, into its present more peaceful role as part of the new Parish of Hemswell Cliff. Most appropriately, the children who take such an important part in the annual commemorative service at the memorial on RAF Hemswell Day (third Wednesday in September) are from Hemswell Cliff School, which began life as Royal Air Force Hemswell School.

By mid 2008 the last RAF presence on the site departed and the station is now totally civilian. However, the RAF still own the community centre and have spent considerable money refurbishing it. The old H Block other rank accommodation buildings on the site have now become home to one of Europe's largest antique centre's and there are also various shops, a garden centre, hairdresser, used book shop and several cafes. On Sundays there is a very large Sunday market and car boot sale. Hemswell Cliff Primary School, formally the RAF primary school, still serves the children of the nearby communities. The former station officers mess is now known as Hemswell Court and provides an elegant venue for weddings, banqueting and conference facilities. The Hemswell hangars have been pressed into service as European Union Common Agricultural Policy Intervention Stores on several occasions as a Lincolnshire location for the occasional EU grain mountain excesses. Some very good internal and external views of the Officers Mess can be seen in the film 'The Dam Busters' which was mainly filmed at RAF Hemswell, although the actual raid by No.617 Squadron was from RAF Scampton.

To emphasise the Guy Gibson and No.617 Squadron connection, Hemswell was used as a substitute for RAF Scampton in the ground based filming of the 1954 movie The Dambusters as the wartime layout of both Scampton and Hemswell was almost identical. It remains the best known filmed record of what RAF Hemswell looked like during and just after the war. However there is also a colour film of Avro Lancaster's at Hemswell in preparation for a raid over Germany which shows briefings, loading of bombs and the raid itself and was the only known colour film of Lancaster's at War. Scenes for the Dambusters film were filmed in various offices of the station headquarters, the front entrance, the bedrooms, ante room and dining room of the officers mess, hangars and the NAAFI canteen with the latter used for the squadron briefing theatre scenes, as well as on the roadways within the base. Part of the RAF's fleet of aging Avro Lincolns had been mothballed at RAF Hemswell prior to being broken up and several of these static aircraft appeared in background shots during filming, doubling for additional No.617 Squadron Lancaster's, as the filmmakers only had four airworthy and fully flying Lancaster's available to them.

In August 2009 there was a large fire at one of the former RAF hangars that was being used as a plastics recycling site by AWS Eco-plastics. Several propane gas cylinders exploded and as a result of the intensity of the fire the A631 had to be closed from Harpswell Hill to Caenby Corner.
Aircraft and Squadrons
Date Squadron Notes
1916 Harpswell opens as a night landing ground.
December 1916 No.33 Sqn (Det) RFC Operating the Avro 504. The squadron disbanded at the landing ground in December 1918.
June 1918 No.199 Sqn RFC Operating the Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2. The squadron disbanded at the landing ground in December 1919.
November 1918 No.200 TS RFC Operating the Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2. The Training Squadron disbanded at the landing ground in December 1919.
1935 - 1937 Building program constructed station buildings, hangars and married quarter housing.
February 1937 No.144 Sqn Operating the Avro Anson, Hawker Audax, Bristol Blenheim and Handley Page Hampden. The squadron left the airfield on the 17th July 1941.
March 1937 No.61 Sqn Operating the Avro Anson, Hawker Audax, Bristol Blenheim and Handley Page Hampden. The squadron the station on the 17th July 1941.
July 1941 No.300 (Polish) Sqn Operating the Vickers Wellington. The squadron left the airfield on the 18th May 1942.
July 1941 No.301 (Polish) Sqn Operating the Vickers Wellington. The squadron left Hemswell on the 7th April 1943.
July 1942 No.305 (Polish) Sqn Operating the Vickers Wellington. The squadron left the airfield on the 22nd June 1943.
January 1943 No.300 (Polish) Sqn Operating the Vickers Wellington. The squadron left the station on the 22nd June 1943.
July 1943 Concrete runways laid
January 1944 No.1 LFS Operating the Avro Lancaster. The Lancaster Finishing School was disbanded at the station on the 25th November 1944.
November 1944 No.170 Sqn Operating the Avro Lancaster. The squadron disbanded at the station on the 14th November 1945.
November 1944 No.150 Sqn Operating the Avro Lancaster. The squadron disbanded at the station on the 7th November 1945.
April 1945 No.1687 BDT Flt Operating the Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker Hurricane and Miles Martinet. The Bomber Defence Training Flight disbanded at the station on the 30th October 1946.
November 1945 No.109 Sqn Operating the de Havilland Mosquito. The squadron left Hemswell on the 4th November 1946.
February 1946 No.139 Sqn Operating the de Havilland Mosquito. The squadron left the airfield on the 4th November 1946.
October 1946 No.100 Sqn Operating the Avro Lincoln. The squadron left the airfield on the 25th March 1950.
November 1946 No.97 Sqn Operating the Avro Lincoln. The squadron disbanded at the station on the 1st January 1956.
November 1946 No.83 Sqn Operating the Avro Lincoln. The squadron disbanded at the station on the 1st January 1956.
July 1947 No.61 Sqn Operating the Avro Lincoln. The squadron left the airfield in December 1947.
July 1947 No.57 Sqn Operating the Avro Lincoln. The squadron left the station in December 1947.
December 1947 No.50 Sqn Operating the Avro Lincoln. The squadron left Hemswell in March 1948.
January 1948 No.12 Sqn Operating the Avro Lincoln. The squadron left the airfield on the 14th March 1948.
March 1950 No.231 OCU Operating the de Havilland Mosquito. The Operational Conversion Unit disbanded at Hemswell in early 1952.
April 1950 No.139 Sqn Operating the de Havilland Mosquito and English Electric Canberra. The squadron left the airfield on the 31st January 1956.
April 1950 No.109 Sqn Operating the de Havilland Mosquito and English Electric Canberra. The squadron left the station on the 1st January 1956.
April 1952 No.199 Sqn Operating the Avro Lincoln, de Havilland Mosquito and English Electric Canberra. The squadron was renumbered 1321 LC Flt on the 1st October 1957.
January 1956 Antler & Arrow Sqns Operating the Avro Lincoln. The squadrons was renumbered 1321 LC Flt on the 1st October 1957.
April 1957 No.76 Sqn Operating the English Electric Canberra. The squadron left the station on the 17th July 1958.
April 1957 No.542 Sqn Operating the English Electric Canberra. The squadron left the station on the 17th July 1958.
May 1957 No.1439 Flt Operating the Vickers Varsity. The flight disbanded at the station on the 20th November 1957.
October 1957 No.1321 LC Flt Operating the Avro Lincoln. The Lincoln Conversion Flight left the airfield on the 2nd April 1958.
October 1958 No.97 Sqn Operating as a Thor IRBM unit. The squadron disbanded at the station on the 24th May 1963.
1963 Used for follow on training for senior recruits from the Recruit Training School at RAF Swinderby. Closed in March 1967.
November 1965 No.643 GS Operating the T21 Sedbergh and T8 Tutor. The Gliding School left the airfield in April 1974.
May 1967 RAF Hemswell disestablished and closed

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Raf Faldingworth - Old Airfield

Junction of former main runway and perimeter road

Faldingworth

LN8 3NN

England

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Station History

Located only 1 mile from Faldingworth church and also close to the village of Newtoft, the site chosen for what would become RAF Faldingworth was originally a decoy site for RAF Hemswell known as Toft Grange.

Construction began on the airfield on the 1st August 1942. As with other airfields of the time period, it would be built to the Class ‘A’ standard. This consisted of three runways intersecting each other and surrounded by the peri-track. The technical site along with both the accommodation and communal were built on the northern side of the airfield. The normal three hangars (two T2s and a B1) were erected, with one T2 being built off the southern peri-track and the remaining T2 and B1 being built on the off the northern peri-track. Although the airfield opened on the 5th July 1943, it was not officially opened until 27th July, even though the airfield was still incomplete.
WWII

Immediately upon opening the station was placed under the control of 1 Group Heavy Conversion Base, to be used as a satellite. Despite some of the facilities still not being complete, the stations first residents arrived on the 8th August 1943 in the form of 1667 HCU. They in turn brought with them the airfields first aircraft, the Handley Page Halifax and the Avro Lancaster. No sooner had the wheels touched the ground, when the first course started on the 11th August.

The next addition the airfield was No.1 LFS ‘C’ Flight being formed on the 21st November 1943. This new flight was made up of the Lancaster flight from 1667 HCU. This in turn led 1667 HCU to become an all Halifax conversion unit having thirty-two aircraft at its disposal. More change was on the way for Faldingworth, but this time in form its control. The airfield was upgraded to a sub-station of 14 Base, under the control of Ludford Magna on the 23th January 1944. This change led to No.1 LFS ‘C’ Flight leaving Faldingworth for pastures new the following day. The change of control also led to 1667 HCU leaving the station, with ‘A’ Flight leaving first on the 18th February 1944, followed the next day by both ‘B’ and ‘C’ Flights. But it wasn’t long before they were replaced with the stations first all-out operational squadron, No.300 (Mazowiecki) Squadron, Polish Air Force.

The heavy bomber squadron arrived on the 1st March 1944, bringing with them the Avro Lancaster. The squadron had been using the Vickers Wellington at its previous posting, but instantly converted to the Lancaster on their arrival at Faldingworth. The following month saw another new flight stand-up at Faldingworth, No.1546 BAT (Beam Approach Training) Flight on the 8th May 1944. The flight was originally scheduled to be formed over the border at Gamston, but due to lack of space there they switched to Faldingworth. The flight was also to bring a new aircraft type to the airfield, in the form of the Airspeed Oxford.

By now more and more personnel where flooding in the station, and on the 12th June, a second flight for No.300 Squadron was formed. But instead of it being manned by Polish personnel, it was manned by English personnel until enough Polish personnel were available to replace them.

Another new squadron was to arrive at the airfield on the 7th October 1944, No.166 ‘C’ Flight. Their arrival was due to the formation of No.153 Squadron at Kirmington. No.153 Sqdn had taken the majority of personnel from No.166 thus leaving the squadron short, so the decision was taken to bolster No.166 Sqdn with a new flight. But their stay was short lived and no sooner had the new flight been established, then they were moved on to join the rest of No.166 back at Kirmington.

The rest of the year remained uneventful in terms change, but the New Year immediately brought a change. The decision was made to disband 1546 BAT Flight and on the 9th January 1945 they were gone. This in turn left only No.300 Sqdn as the only residents at what was once heaving airfield.
Post War

With the end of the war No.14 Base was disbanded, which left the airfield as an independent station. But despite the change, No.300 Squadron continued to operate from the airfield, taking part in to post-war operations in the form of Operations Dodge, Manna and Exodus. But as with many airfields around the country, the end of the war also signalled the end for many airfields, Faldingworth being no exception.

No.300 Squadron were eventually disbanded on the 11th October 1946, but instead of the airfield being placed on Care and Maintenance, they were replaced with the arrival of No.305 Squadron, Polish Air Force. They arrival not only brought new aircraft the airfield in the shape of the de Havilland Mosquito, but also new hope that the station would survive. But this was short lived, when on 6th January 1947 No.305 Squadron were disbanded, and the station placed on Care and Maintenance.

It wasn’t until April 1949 that the airfield would see change again, when control was transferred from Bomber Command to 42 Group Maintenance Command. The intended use for the airfield was to be a sub-site for 93 MU, and they remained in control until October 1957. Then in the same month 92 MU was formed at the airfield and the airfield was partially reactivated again, but not for its previous use as a flying airfield. This time the station was be tasked with the supply of munitions to all other RAF airfields in Lincolnshire. This also included the storage of Nuclear weapons during the Cold War period. But the end was near for Faldingworth and in November 1972, 92 MU were disbanded and the airfield closed and placed up for sale.
Faldingworth Airfield

Shortly after closing the accommodation blocks at the airfield were used for a short period as housing for a number of displaced Ugandan Asians, but by the end of 1973 they had been moved on. After they had left the station slowly began to be returned to its original use as farmland, until finally in 1998 the main part of the station was sold-off.

Today much of the former RAF station has been completely returned to farmland, but the old munitions site still remains active, all be in it in a civilian capacity. The former munitions site was bought by a civilian company in 1972 which specialises in explosive’s testing, along with other munitions testing. Access to this part of the airfield is restricted so it is not entirely known how much of the original buildings remain, but it is thought that structurally at least they are pretty much untouched.

As for the rest of the airfield, a number of buildings still remain on the northern side. The former station sick quarters and cinema can still be seen, along with one of the B1 hangars, also along with the footings of a few other buildings. A memorial has also been erected on the eastern side of the airfield commemorating the personnel that once served at this proud station.
Aircraft and Squadrons
Date Squadron Notes
July 1943 Station opened
August 1943 1667 HCU Operating the Handley Page Halifax and Avro Lancaster. The heavy Conversion Unit left the station on the 19th February 1944.
November 1943 No.1 LFS 'C' Flight Operating the Avro Lancaster. The Lancaster Flying School left the airfield on the 24th January 1944.
March 1944 No.300 Sqdn Polish AF Operating the Vickers Wellington and Avro Lancaster. The squadron was disbanded at Faldingworth on the 11th October 1946.
May 1944 No.1546 BAT Flight Operating the Airspeed Oxford. The Beam Approach Training Flight disbanded at Faldingworth on the 9th January 1945.
October 1944 No.166 Sqdn 'C' Flight Operating the Avro Lancaster. The flight left the station on the 15th October 1944.
October 1946 No.305 Sqdn Polish AF Operating the de Havilland Mosquito. The squadron disbanded at Faldingworth on the 6th January 1947.
January 1947 Station placed on Care and Maintenance.
April 1949 No.93 MU The Maintenance Unit left the airfield in October 1957.
October 1957 No.92 MU The Maintenance Unit disbanded at Faldingworth in November 1972.
November 1972 RAF Faldingworth closed.
1998 The main part of the airfield sold-off.

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Raf Dunholme lodge - Unnamed Road, Lincoln LN2 3QA

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Station History

It is easy to drive across the former Dunholme Lodge and indeed, along one of its runways, without realising you are on what was a large WWII bomber airfield. Construction of a standard Class 'A' airfield commenced in September 1942 on land just west of Welton, although fields at the site had been used during 1941 to disperse Hampdens from nearby Scampton. Dunholme Lodge had the standard three runway configuration although one of the subsidiaries was longer than normal at 1700 yards. The technical site was established around Dunholme Lodge, off the eastern perimeter track with the communal & accommodation sites dispersed around Welton. One T2 hangar was located on the technical site whilst the second was off the southern perimeter track near the bomb stores. The B1 hangar was on the south-western edge of the airfield.

Dunholme Lodge opened in May 1943 under 5 Group. The first operational unit was 44 Squadron, which arrived from Waddington on 31st May 1943. The squadron operated their Lancasters from Dunholme Lodge until 30th September 1944, when they moved to RAF Spilsby. On 17th April 1944, they were joined by 619 Squadron who stayed until 28th September when they moved to Strubby. In September 1944 the airfield was transferred to 1 Group. On 22nd October 1944, the final operational unit to be based at the airfield arrived, 170 Squadron equipped with Lancasters. They stayed at Dunholme Lodge for just over a month before departing to Hemswell on 29th November 1944.

Following this, the airfield was closed to operational flying. It was used towards the end of the war by General Aircraft Ltd for the modification of assault gliders, principally the Hemilcar. After the war, Dunholme Lodge was closed but retained by the military. It had a brief resurrection between 1959-1964, when it housed Bloodhound anti-aircraft missiles.

Very little remains of the airfield today, the eastern end of the east-west runway is the largest surviving part. The former technical site is now a private farm and some buildings are still extant on this.
Aircraft and Squadrons
Date Squadron Notes
1941 Station opened as a satellite for RAF Scampton.
May 1943 RAF Dunholme Lodge fully opens.
May 1943 No.44 Sqn Operating the Avro Lancaster. Left Dunholme in September 1944.
September 1943 No.49 Sqn Operating the Avro Lancaster. Left Dunholme in October 1943.
April 1944 No.619 Sqn Operating the Avro Lancaster. Left Dunholme in September 1944.
October 1944 No.170 Sqn Operating the Avro Lancaster. Left Dunholme in November 1944.
1945 Station put on care and maintenance.
April 1959 No.141 Sqn Operating the Bloodhound missile units. Squadron disbanded in March 1964.
1964 RAF Dunholme Lodge closed.

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Raf Swingderby,

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RAF Swinderby Memorial - Village Hall, Witham St Hughs, Lincoln LN6 9TN

Former RAF Swinderby - Witham St Hughs, Lincoln LN6 9BJ

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​16 July 1941 the Polish Air Force Standard was presented to 300 Bomber Squadron at RAF Swinderby, Lincolnshire, so completing its long journey from Wilno (now Vilnius, Lithuania) to the Polish Air Force in Britain. The Standard was embroidered in secret and once completed, it was smuggled out of Wilno in the Japanese diplomatic bag to Stockholm, from where it was brought to Britain.

In the presence of the President of the Republic of Poland Władysław Raczkiewicz and other Polish and British dignitaries, the honour of initially delivering the Standard was given to its creator kpt. Jan Hryniewicz. He handed it to retired General Lucjan Żeligowski for passing to Prime Minister of the Polish Government in Exile and Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Armed Forces General Władysław Sikorski. Following a short speech General Władysław Sikorski formally presented the Standard to the Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Air Force Brigadier General Stanisław Ujejski, so finally completing its journey from Wilno to the Polish Air Force. He then handed it to the commander of 300 (Polish) Land of Masovia squadron W/Cdr Wacław Makowski, who in turn presented it to a 300 Squadron Standard bearer for parading at the ceremony.

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