Stanisław Witkowski

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(Hon.) (23 April 1883 – 28 August 1957), was an officer, engineer and military industry organiser in the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

, Hononary Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Background and early life

As a secondary school student Stanisław Witkowski was a member of " Association of the Polish Youth "Zet"/"

Zarzewie Organisation of Independent Youth Zarzewie was a clandestine Polish youth organization, formed in May 1909 in Lemberg, Austrian Galicia. Based on Association of the Polish Youth "Zet", its objective was the restoration of independent Poland. As par ...

", clandestine organisations fighting for the independence of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. In 1912 he studied at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering,

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

(Lviv)

Polytechnic A polytechnic is an educational institution that primarily focuses on vocational education, applied sciences, and career pathways. They are sometimes referred to as ''institutes of technology'', ''vocational institutes'', or ''universities of app ...

. There he joined the ranks of the

Polish Rifle Squads The Polish Rifle Squads () was a Polish pro-independence paramilitary organization, founded in 1911 by the Youth Independence Organization in the Austro-Hungarian sector of partitioned Poland. Among its founders were Norwid Neugebauer, Marian J ...

(organised by

), serving in the 1st Academic Company. Following the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he volunteered for the Polish Legions, fighting with distinction in the 1st Artillery Regiment. After the so-called "

oath crisis The Oath crisis (; German language, German: ''Eidkrise'') was a World War I political conflict between the Imperial German Army command and the Józef Piłsudski-led Polish Legions in World War I, Polish Legions. Initially supporting the Central P ...

" the Polish Legions were disbanded and the legionnaires, including Stanisław Witkowski, were interned by the Germans in the camps of Szczypiorno and

Łomża Łomża () is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the capital of Łomża County and has been the se ...

. At

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

, (which is also Poland's

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

) in November 1918, he took an active part in disarming the Germans in Skierniewice, then he enlisted in the

and went to the eastern front, taking service in the ammunition workshop during the ensuing Polish-Soviet War.

In independent Poland

He played a prominent role in the organisation of the army of the reborn Poland. In 1922, he organised and managed the Munitions Factory in Warsaw, located in the former buildings of the Gerlach and Pulst Joint Stock Company in

Wola Wola () is a district in western Warsaw, Poland. An industrial area with traditions reaching back to the early 19th century, it underwent a transformation into a major financial district, featuring various landmarks and some of the tallest offi ...

(

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

), Using obsolete machines, mainly from a German arms factory in Gdańsk, the factory managed to turn out 9.2 thousand rifle rounds in 1923, and 64.6 thousand in the next three years. On February 1, 1927, he became Division Head in the Armaments Department of the Ministry of Military Affairs. In the same year he graduated from the Mechanics Faculty of the

Warsaw Polytechnic The Warsaw University of Technology () is one of the leading institutes of technology in Poland and one of the largest in Central Europe. It employs 2,453 teaching faculty, with 357 professors (including 145 titular professors). The student body ...

. In 1930 he became Deputy Head of the Armaments Department and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. From June 1932, he was Head of the Armament Materials Research Institute. On January 1, 1935, already as a colonel, he was appointed Commandant of the

Military Institute of Armament Technology Military Institute of Armament Technology (; WITU) is a Polish scientific institution responsible for the research and development of new technologies for use by the military. It is based in Zielonka at the outskirts of Warsaw. Subordinate to the ...

. Both institutes were

R & D Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage of d ...

establishments, as well was centres for experimental constructions and made a significant contribution to the good organization of the Polish arms industry and its technological advancement. Stanisław Witkowski continued to learn about military technology during study tours in the arms factories of France, Switzerland and Hungary. In 1934 he was the Polish Army's representative on the Board of the Polish-American Mechanics Association, and management board of that Association's Tools Plant (SMPzA) in Pruszków near Warsaw. The President of the management board of that company was

Stefan Starzyński Stefan Bronisław Starzyński (19 August 1893 – between 21 and 23 December 1939) was a Polish statesman, economist, military officer and Mayor of Warsaw before and during the Siege of 1939. Early life, studies and career Stefan Bronisław S ...

, later the heroic Mayor of Warsaw during the 1939 Siege of the City, executed by the Nazi Germans in 1940. In 1933-39 was a liaison officer to and member of the Temporary Scientific and Advisory Committee

London

During the Second World War he stayed in London serving in the Polish Armed Forces in the West. In 1940 he was the officer for technical and industrial matters reporting to the Supreme Commander General Władysław Sikorski, and in 1941-1945 Head of the Military Technical Institute in London.Muzeum Przemysłu...... (in References) On October 4, 1943, King George VI granted him the Dignity of an Honorary Commander of the Military Department of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). Dokument CBE 2

Back in Poland after the war

Poland was fast becoming a communist country and a prewar officer faced a difficult choice. Nevertheless, in 1946 col. Stanisław Witkowski returned to Poland, where he became the head of the Technical Department in the General Staff, as Józef Kuropieska mentions in his memoirs.Kuropieska J. (1984) Then he worked at the Polish Committee for Standardisation, and in 1953 he retired to become a scientific editor in the technical vocabulary section of the State Technical Publishing House.

Death

On 28 August 1963 Witkowski died in

Nałęczów Nałęczów is a spa town (population 4,800) situated on the Nałęczów Plateau in Puławy County, Lublin Voivodeship, eastern Poland. Nałęczów belongs to Lesser Poland. History In the 18th century, the discovery there of healing waters ini ...

. He was given a funeral in Powązki, which the

Honour Guard A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state ...

attended. The funeral service was also held in London at

Brompton Oratory Brompton Oratory, also known as the London Oratory, is a neo-classical late-Victorian Catholic parish church in the Brompton area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, neighbouring Knightsbridge, London. Its name stems from Oratorian ...

on 5 October 1957.

Honours

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', ) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was established in 1792 by the last King of Poland Stanislaus II of Poland, ...

Class V - Silver Cross. *

Cross of Independence Cross of Independence () was the second highest Polish military decoration between World Wars I and II. It was awarded to individuals who had fought actively for the independence of Poland, and was released in three classes. History The Cr ...

, ** Cross of Valour (four times), *** Cross of Merit (Gold and Silver), *** War 1918-191 Memorial Medal *** Officer's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

*** Honorary Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE)

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Witkowski Stanisław Witkowski Stanisław Witkowski Stanisław Witkowski Stanisław Witkowski Stanisław Polish Rifle Squads members Polish military personnel of World War II Witkowski Stanisław Recipients of the Cross of Independence Witkowski Stanisław Witkowski Stanisław Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Lviv Polytechnic alumni Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Military personnel of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom Polish Army officers Association of the Polish Youth "Zet" members