Born: September 23, 1921 in Stok, Lublin voivodship, Poland
Died: May 24, 2013, Canada
Buried: Warsaw, Poland – Bródno Cemetery – section 14D, row 4, grave 1
During the War:
In 1939 Jadwiga’s parents along with their three children made it to Warsaw. Jadwiga was then 18. In Warsaw she studied bookkeeping. She took part in the Warsaw Uprising (“Kiliński” battalion of the Home Army) and after its’ fall was taken prisoner. After being sentenced to several prisoner of war camps, she ended up in VI C Oberlangen camp. She was liberated by the 1st Polish Armoured Division and was assigned to Women’ Military Service – Wojskowa Służba Kobiet (WSK) of the Division. It was there that she met her husband, lieutenant colonel Adam Kociołek, an officer with the Division.
After the War:
She emigrated to Canada and settled in Edmonton, where she worked in several financial institutions and was active in the Polish community. She died in Canada, and in September 2013 she was buried in Warsaw.
author; Stan Skrzeszewski, Canada
source of information: SPK w Kanadzie, May 2014 (1/195), Warsaw Uprising Museum (Warsaw, Poland)