Born: February 28th, 1916, Warsaw, Poland
Died: September 24th, 2000, Canada
Family: siblings – Tadeusz, Voytek and Zygmunt and two sisters, Barbara and Theresa; parents: Frank and Marianna Kominek
Fates before joining 1st Polish Armored Division:
In early 1940, Mieczysław (Mike) escaped from his camp and managed to cross the green border and arrive into Yugoslavia. From Yugoslavia, he travelled by ship to France, where he joined the Allied army and participated in the Battle of France as it neared its end. When France fell, he, along with thousands of Allied soldiers, found himself trapped on the beach at Dunkirk. Over a period of 9 days, from May 27th to June 4th, Allied soldiers were rescued from the beach and safely returned to Britain in Operation Dynamo. Every kind of ship and boat capable of crossing the English Channel was mobilized from British ports to Dunkirk. The embarkation continued despite almost continuous attacks by land, and the Polish soldiers were further transported by train to Scotland, specifically to Camp Crawford, near Glasgow.
Military service in 1st Armored Division:
In the early spring of 1941, their group was relocated to Motherwell, Scotland, where they began organizing the Polish Armoured Division. Mike was then sent to the British Army Workshop in Ladybank to help service the much-needed optical instruments for his unit.
He participated in various training exercises in England and Scotland, and by 1943, preparations were underway for the invasion of Europe. In 1944, the invasion began, and the 1st Polish Armoured Division landed in Falaise, France. They engaged in combat south of Caen and successfully closed the Falaise Gap. They were involved in numerous battles as they pursued German divisions through Belgium, Holland, and Germany. After Germany’s unconditional surrender in Reims, France, in May of 1945, Allied troops gradually returned to Britain.
After War:
After the war, he returned to Scotland, where he was admitted to Cadet School and became an officer and an instructor at the British Horological Institute, teaching watchmaking. He was discharged from the army in 1947, but continued to work for the government as a teacher of watch and clock repair at a retraining school for army invalids in Edinburgh. In 1949, he opened his own business specializing in camera, watch, and clock repairs on George Street in Edinburgh, where he worked until the family emigrated to Canada in November of 1954.
When the family arrived in Canada in 1954, Mike came along. He sailed to Toronto in March 1954, and upon his arrival, he secured a job in Eatons’ watch and clock repair department. After only a few months, he decided to start his own business. With very little money, a few tools, and the promise of repairs from Eatons, Mike rented space above Lindy’s Restaurant at Yonge and Gerrard. Later in life, he also became the founding member of Wawel Villa, where the Orlinski Museum is now located.
author : Robert Stanczyk
source : archives of Orliński Museum, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
