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Sgt. Pilot Cook, Pilot in an Anson Craft:  Robert Austin:  Charcoal on paper:  1940

‘There were many great Polish airmen that fought and flew in the Second World War. They were the bravest of the brave.’

Austin (1895-1973) he was a fine draughtsman and his drawings show an intense realism. He recorded subjects at the RAF Coastal Command Station, Silloth, Cumbria in 1940. His works were popular but he was not made an official war artist.

Under the German-Soviet Treaty of September 28, 1939, Poland was divided into two, one side given to Germany and the other to Russia. By December 1940 Poland had a government in exile preparing for power after liberation. Many people still in Poland were resisting the rule of their occupiers and there was a strong underground force.

The government in exile assembled the Polish Armed Forces in the West and many of the Polish fighter pilots made a strong contribution to the victory in the Battle of Britain. Many people in the country were resisting the rule of the occupiers and there was a strong underground force.

By the beginning of 1941 the government in exile had assembled the Polish Armed Forces in the West and there was a Polish Air Force functioning together with the RAF. There were 14 Squadrons; this was greater than any of the other Allied Air Forces that were in Nazi-occupied Europe. Over 17,000 men and women went through the Polish Air Force while it was in the UK. They pilots and their comrades shot down over 700 enemy aircraft, with a many other unconfirmed. They did all this but lost nearly 2,000 and over 1,300 were injured. To show gratitude the British government awarded the Polish soldiers and airmen 342 gallantry awards.