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Scouts Wreath Newark Cemetery At General Sikorski Former Grave
Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (Polish pronunciation: [vwaˈdɨswaf ɕiˈkɔrskʲi] (listen) ; 20 May 1881 – 4 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader.
Beginning in late May 1943, Sikorski began visiting Polish forces stationed in the Middle East. In addition to inspecting the forces and raising morale, Sikorski was also occupied with political matters; around that time, a conflict was growing between him and General Władysław Anders, as Sikorski was still open to some normalization of Polish–Soviet relations, to which Anders was vehemently opposed. On 4 July 1943, while Sikorski was returning from an inspection of Polish forces deployed in the Middle East, he was killed, together with his daughter, his Chief of Staff, Tadeusz Klimecki, and seven others, when his plane, a Liberator II, serial AL523, crashed into the sea 16 seconds after takeoff from Gibraltar Airport at 23:07 hours. The crash was attributed to cargo on the plane shifting to the back upon takeoff. Only the pilot, Eduard Prchal (1911–1984), survived the crash. Sikorski was subsequently buried in a brick-lined grave at the Polish War Cemetery in Newark-on-Trent, England on 16 July that year. Winston Churchill delivered a eulogy at his funeral. On 14 September 1993, his remains were exhumed and transferred via Polish Air Force TU-154M, and escorted by RAF 56 Sqn Tornado F3 jets, to the royal crypts at Wawel Castle in Kraków, Poland.
In 2008 Sikorski was exhumed and his remains were examined by Polish scientists, who in 2009 concluded that he died due to injuries consistent with an air crash, and that there was no evidence that Sikorski was murdered, ruling out theories that he was shot or strangled before the incident; however they did not rule out the possibility of sabotage, which is still being investigated by the Polish Institute of National Remembrance.
Memory of General Sikorski was also preserved both in Poland and abroad, by organizations like the Sikorski Institute in London.[5] In the UK, Sikorski received honoris causa degrees from the University of Liverpool and University of St Andrews. In 1981, a commemorative plaque was revealed at Hotel Rubens in London,[5] where during the war Polish Military Headquarters, including Sikorski's office, were located. He is commemorated in London's Portland Place, near the Embassy of Poland, with a larger than life statue, unveiled in 2000. A propeller from the plane in which he died is the centrepiece of a new memorial to Sikorski at Europa Point, Gibraltar
Born: May 20, 1881, Tuszów Narodowy
Died: July 4, 1943, Gibraltar
Cause of Death: Airplane crash
Spouse: Olga Helena Zubrzewska
Parents: Emilia Sikorska, Tomasz Sikorski
Children: Zofia Leśniowska
Party affiliation: Independent politician
Scouts Wreath Newark Cemetery At General Sikorski Former Grave
Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (Polish pronunciation: [vwaˈdɨswaf ɕiˈkɔrskʲi] (listen) ; 20 May 1881 – 4 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader.
Beginning in late May 1943, Sikorski began visiting Polish forces stationed in the Middle East. In addition to inspecting the forces and raising morale, Sikorski was also occupied with political matters; around that time, a conflict was growing between him and General Władysław Anders, as Sikorski was still open to some normalization of Polish–Soviet relations, to which Anders was vehemently opposed. On 4 July 1943, while Sikorski was returning from an inspection of Polish forces deployed in the Middle East, he was killed, together with his daughter, his Chief of Staff, Tadeusz Klimecki, and seven others, when his plane, a Liberator II, serial AL523, crashed into the sea 16 seconds after takeoff from Gibraltar Airport at 23:07 hours. The crash was attributed to cargo on the plane shifting to the back upon takeoff. Only the pilot, Eduard Prchal (1911–1984), survived the crash. Sikorski was subsequently buried in a brick-lined grave at the Polish War Cemetery in Newark-on-Trent, England on 16 July that year. Winston Churchill delivered a eulogy at his funeral. On 14 September 1993, his remains were exhumed and transferred via Polish Air Force TU-154M, and escorted by RAF 56 Sqn Tornado F3 jets, to the royal crypts at Wawel Castle in Kraków, Poland.
In 2008 Sikorski was exhumed and his remains were examined by Polish scientists, who in 2009 concluded that he died due to injuries consistent with an air crash, and that there was no evidence that Sikorski was murdered, ruling out theories that he was shot or strangled before the incident; however they did not rule out the possibility of sabotage, which is still being investigated by the Polish Institute of National Remembrance.
Memory of General Sikorski was also preserved both in Poland and abroad, by organizations like the Sikorski Institute in London.[5] In the UK, Sikorski received honoris causa degrees from the University of Liverpool and University of St Andrews. In 1981, a commemorative plaque was revealed at Hotel Rubens in London,[5] where during the war Polish Military Headquarters, including Sikorski's office, were located. He is commemorated in London's Portland Place, near the Embassy of Poland, with a larger than life statue, unveiled in 2000. A propeller from the plane in which he died is the centrepiece of a new memorial to Sikorski at Europa Point, Gibraltar
Born: May 20, 1881, Tuszów Narodowy
Died: July 4, 1943, Gibraltar
Cause of Death: Airplane crash
Spouse: Olga Helena Zubrzewska
Parents: Emilia Sikorska, Tomasz Sikorski
Children: Zofia Leśniowska
Party affiliation: Independent politician