Poland in South Africa

The ceremony was attended by representatives of the South African Air Force (SAAF), the Royal Air Force, South African and Polish combatants with their families, Polish associations Polish scouts, Polish diaspora in South Africa and the representatives of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Pretoria. The event was moderated by Martin Urry, chairman of the Organizing Committee of the "Warsaw Flights". The national anthems of South Africa and Poland were played during the ceremony. The gathered people honoured the memory of the fallen airmen with a minute's silence.

The occasional speech was delivered by the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Kanthak. The Ambassador paid tribute to the South African pilots who without hesitation sacrificed their young lives to bring hope and liberation to the beleaguered Warsaw. He also emphasized that the memory of the heroic pilots and their contribution to the liberation of Poland would remain alive in the hearts of Poles forever. The Ambassador mentioned, that a few days earlier, in Michalin near Warsaw, a commemorative plaque was unveiled on the monument to the fallen South African Allied airmen from the crew of the B-24 Liberator KG 939 A (31st SAAF Bomber Squadron) shot down in the military action of supporting the Warsaw Uprising at night of August 14/15, 1944. Three pilots, out of the eight-man crew of the plane, died then: co-pilot 2 / Lt Robert G. Hamilton (SAAF, 21) and two shooters: Sgt Herbert Hudson (RAF, 21) and Sgt Leslie Mayes (RAF, 24 years). The remaining five airmen (including the first pilot Capt. J.L. Van Eyssen) survived by jumping with a parachute.

The ceremonial laying of wreaths at the Katyn Memorial in Johannesburg closed the celebrations.

The event was broadcast over the internet. The recording is available on the Committee's website https://www.facebook.com/WarsawFlightsCommemoration2020 .

More information on the history of the "Warsaw Flights" and the South African airmen can be found on the South African Air Force Museum website: https://saafmuseum.org.za/398/ .

The celebrations were organized with all precautions and observance of the South African sanitary regime regarding the principles of safe functioning during the coronavirus pandemic, i.e. respecting social distances, wearing masks and disinfecting.

Photos: Grażyna Koornhof / Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Pretoria