Born: September 21st, 1900
Died: October 5th, 1973
Burial: Toronto, Ontario
Family: Krzysztof Lubicz-Szydłowski (son)
Medals: Silver Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari No. 10517 (for the campaign in the West 1944/1945), Cross of Valor (five times: twice before 1932, for the second, third and fourth time during the 1944/1945 campaign), Army Medal (for the 1939–1945 war), Gold Cross of Merit (May 25, 1939), Independence Medal (November 9, 1933), Officer’s Cross of the Order of Leopold with Palms (Belgium), Croix de Guerre with palms (Belgium), Order of Distinguished Service (UK), Order of Orange-Nassau with Swords (Netherlands, 1949)
Fates before joining 1st Polish Armored Division:
During the First World War, he was an active scout in the Polish Military Organization (PL: Polska Organizacja Wojskowa). He participated in the defense of Lviv during the Polish-Ukrainian War in 1918 and again in 1920 during the Polish-Bolshevik War. In 1924, he was assigned to the Central Military School of Gymnastics and Sports in Poznań, where he served as an adjutant, orderly officer, instructor, lecturer, commander of a non-commissioned officer company, and a laboratory manager. In 1928, he was promoted to the rank of infantry captain with seniority.
When the war broke out in 1939, Zdzisław served as an officer of the 12th Infantry Division during the September Campaign. As Poland fell, he made his way west to join the Polish Army in France. He took part in the French Campaign in the rank of major, commanding the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Greater Poland Grenadier Regiment. In 1941, he was apprehended by the Germans but eventually regained his freedom and fought with the French Resistance.
Military service in 1st Armored Division:
When France fell, Zdzisław became an officer of the Polish Armed Forces in Britain. By 1943, Zdzisław held the rank of lieutenant colonel and commanded the 1st Battalion of the 1st Independent Parachute Brigade, overseeing the Cadet Parachute School in Scotland. From 1943 to 1945, Lt. Col. Lubicz-Szydłowski commanded the 9th Flanders Rifle Battalion, a unit under the Polish First Armored Division. He supervised the Battalion’s actions on the French coast and participated in the liberation of the city of Axel, Netherlands in 1944. He ended the war as the colonel of his unit. In recognition of his efforts to liberate Axel, Zdzisław was honored with honorary citizenship in Axel, and Szydłowski Square (Szydlowskiplein) was erected in his honor.
After War:
In 1949, he immigrated to Toronto, Ontario in Canada, where he died in 1973.
author : Robert Stanczyk
source : archives of Orliński Museum, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
