General Stanislaw Maczek

Stanisław Maczek was born in 1892 near Lwów, then part of the Austria-Hungarian Empire. The First World War interrupted his university studies and he was commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Army serving on the Italian front. He joined the newly-formed Polish Army in 1918. In 1938 he became Commander of the 10th Motorised Cavalry Brigade, which gallantly resisted the 1939 German invasion of Poland. After regrouping in France and being involved in the withdrawal of French forces, he escaped to Scotland. In 1942, he took command of the 1st Polish Armoured Division which fought with distinction during the North-West Europe Campaign. Unable to return to communist Poland, he lived in exile in Edinburgh until his death in 1994.