Poland’s ambassador to the UK, Piotr Wilczek, wrote on the social media platform X: “Heartbroken to learn of the passing of Jan Stangryciuk-Black, one of the last Polish airmen who defended Britain during the Second World War. A rear gunner in the 300 Bomber Squadron, he demonstrated immense courage and resilience throughout his life.”
Stangryciuk was born in Chełm, eastern Poland, in 1922. He emigrated to Argentina with his family as a child. After the outbreak of World War II, he came to Britain to join the Royal Air Force. In 1942, he was badly injured when the Wellington Bomber he was in crashed in southern England. He risked his life trying to free the pilot from the burning fuselage but was the only survivor, suffering severe burns to his face.
He was successfully cured thanks to an experimental therapy by New Zealand doctor Archibald McIndoe. In 1944 and 1945, as a rear gunner of Squadron 300, Stangryciuk took part in 18 missions over Nazi Germany.
After the war, he settled in London and married his first wife, adopting her surname of Black, although he retained a Polish passport bearing his birth name of Stangryciuk.
He left the armed forces in 1948, spending the next 20 years working as a delivery driver.
His first wife died in 2004 and he later remarried Jadwiga, who was also originally from Poland.
Jan Stangryciuk-Black. Photo courtesy of the Polish Embassy in London
Stangryciuk-Black held several British and Polish medals and distinctions including the Air Crew Europe Star, the Defence Medal, the Bomber Command Medal, the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Reborn Poland, and the Polish Cross of Valour.
(mk/gs)
