The 1st Independent Polish Parachute Brigade
(1 Samodzielna Brygada Spadochronowa)
A Pole In Auchtertool
Military Records Overview
Military records state "arrived and assigned service-wise and accounting-wise to the Distribution Camp, registered to the Army Recruiting Command No. 1"
Arrival
I arrived in Auchtertool, Fife, Scotland on the 17th August 1942. (In Polish they called this camp "Obóz Rozdzielczy").
It was just a short ride by truck from Kirkcaldy train station where my train came in.
Compared to Archangelsk in Siberia, this place was warm, I could easily cope with it and certainly it more comfortable than the searing heat of the Middle East to which I had taken a dislike.
At Auchtertool, I was taken to an Old Distillery where the main Polish camp was. There I had a Polish meal and made new friends, so many Polish soldiers from the Middle East were there, maybe 2000 in total.
They could not all fit at this old distillery so some were down the road in a field in tents. However, at least they had toilet and shower blocks there, they seemed happy enough sitting around, playing cards, target practicing etc.
I went to the Army Recruiting Office and had all my paperwork brought up to date and stamped. Apparently I am now being transferred and managed in every respect by office K.U. Nr 1 (Kommenda Uzupelnien No 1) who are based at The Rockingham Hotel in Aberdour, Fife.
To Largo House
Extract From Military Records: "transferred in every respect to the 1st Parachute Brigade by Order of the I Corps"
After some time, maybe a week or two, I was transferred to Largo House. There I would be training to be a paratrooper with the 1st Independent Polish Parachute Brigade (1 Samodzielna Brygada Spadochronowa).
I did not know it at the time, but 75 years later my grandson (I had not even met his grandmother at this point!) would live in nearby Dunfermline. He would end up studying and researching my life and writing this very blog to help others understand what we Polish soldiers went through.
If only I could travel forwards in time and give him the stories and facts to make his article even more interesting!