A scarce pair of Second World War Pilot’s Flying Log Book used by a Free Polish 303 Squadron Spitfire Fighter Pilot who amongst other sorties flew during the Normandy Invasion over the beachhead. As issued to and used by Flight Sergeant Jozef Polilejko, Royal Air Force and Free Polish Air Force, who on opting to remain in the United Kingdom after the war and the creation of the Iron Curtain, then anglicised his name to Joseph Lake.
Royal Air Force Pilot’s Flying Log Book the cover inscribed in ink: ‘Polilejko’, this covering the period from 19th July 1942 through to 31st March 1944.
Royal Air Force Pilot’s Flying Log Book the cover inscribed in ink: ‘Polilejko. Jozef F/Sgt.’, this covering the period from 4th April 1944 through to 14th December 1945.
Also two newspaper cuttings relating to the recipient in later life, by which time he had changed his name from Jozef Polilejko to Joseph Lake.
Some copied images are amongst the research, including one of him sitting in the cockpit of his Spitfire.
Condition: both in reasonable condition showing usual signs of use and age.
Jozef Polilejko, later Joseph Lake, escaped from Poland after the German and Russian invasion of his country in 1939 and made his way to the United Kingdom. He began his flying training as a pilot when a Leading Air Craftsman in Tiger Moth’s with No.25 (Polish) Elementary Flying Training School in mid July 1942, and flew his first solo on 4th August. He graduated from this school on 14th September 1942, and was then posted to No.1 (Polish) Service Flying Training School as part of ‘F’ Flight with No.2 Squadron in mid September, where he flew in the Miles Master single engined aircraft, achieving his first solo on type on 17th October and gained his pilot’s wings in March 1943. passing out of the course on the 16th of that month.
As a Sergeant, Polilejko was then posted to No.41 Operational Training Unit at R.A.F. Hawarden where he learned to fly the Martinet from late March, in addition to gaining some experience on both the Harvard and the Mustang as part of ‘Z’ Flight. Posted to No.61 Operational Training Unit, he then progressed onto the Spitfire from October 1943 as part of ‘F’ Flight, and during this period flew out of Rednal and Montford Bridge. He was posted operational to join No.303 (Polish) Squadron on 3rd March 1944 which was then operating out of Northern Ireland, and joined ‘B’ Flight. Polilejko flew his first operational sortie, a squadron formation on 26th March, and completed three more sorties by the end of the month, when flying in a Spitfire Mk VB.
Polilejko flew his first night mission to protect a convoy on the 6th April, and by the end of that month had completed a further three operational sorties. He was then moved with his squadron to Thorne, from where he would participate in aerial operations in the run up to and during the invasion of Normandy. On 4th May, he flew a night patrol, and completed his first cross Channel ‘Ramrod’ mission on 15th May, following this with another on the 19th May, and the next morning flew a dawn patrol, before flying further ‘Ramrod’ missions at night on the 21st and 22nd May, with a night patrol over the Isle of Wight on the 23rd May, and further ‘Ramrod’ missions on the 24th, 28th and 29th May. There are some notes next to these missions written in Polish. The ‘Ramrod’ mission of 21st May is now recorded in the Imperial War Museum archive under Combat Film No 5010, which shows Polilejko attacking ground targets. He was a Flight Sergeant by this stage.
On 1st June he flew a night patrol over the Channel, and on the following day he flew a ‘Ramrod’ mission, with another patrol over the Channel occurring on the night of the 4th June. With the invasion of Normandy on 6th June 1944, he was busy, and a ‘Ramrod’ mission, and a patrol over the Western Area of the invasion beachhead, following this the next day with two over the Eastern Area of the beachhead.
For some reason, Polilejko was then taken off operations, and having last flown in a local flight to Kenley on the 8th June, he was not back in the cockpit until 27th October, when with No.25 (Polish) Elementary Flying Training School as part of the Instructors Flight instructing potential pilots on the Tiger Moth. He remained employed as such through to the end of the Second World War with ‘C’ Flight, and remained as such until he completed his last service flight on 14th December 1945.
After the war he changed his name to Joseph Lake, having opted to settle in the United Kingdom, and in addition to the 1939-1945 Star, Air Crew Europe Star with France and Germany Clasp, and the War Medal, he was subsequently post the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in 1991, awarded the Polish War Medal.