Thanks to the generosity of Mr. Jacek Caliński and his family, our Museum was given the opportunity to present, as part of the permanent exhibition “Wings and People of the 20th Century”, memorabilia associated with 2nd Lt. Stanisław Caliński (1922-1944), a pilot of 315 “Dęblin” Fighter Squadron of the Polish Air Forces in Great Britain. The artefacts were deposited on loan, with the right to make digital copies. The donated memorabilia primarily document the wartime story of Stanisław Caliński, including numerous documents, photographs, notes, and personal items. Among them are highly valuable artefacts, customarily presented first, such as the badge and identification card of 315 Fighter Squadron, a pilot’s badge model 1919 made by the London firm “J.R. Gaunt & Sons”, identification cards for the Cross of Valour, and No 16 (Polish) Service Flying Training School.
However, we would also like to draw equal attention to artefacts that are less valuable by auction standards but extraordinarily precious on a personal level — carrying a strong emotional charge or revealing the everyday life of Polish pilots in Great Britain. Among such memorabilia, one must certainly highlight the postcard bearing Stanisław Caliński’s last message to his family home: “Greetings from a holiday by the Black Sea. From Staszek C. Balchik, 27-XI-1939” — sent during the evacuation of Polish soldiers from Romania to France. A particularly interesting curiosity is a faithful copy, made in England, of the German publication “Language Guide. Deutsch für Polen. Pocket book for use by Poles”. Such copies were part of the equipment of Polish airmen participating in combat flights, serving as their safeguard in case of landing behind enemy lines. Equipped with these guides, they were to pose as Polish forced labourers.
Also very interesting are Stanisław Caliński’s personal notebooks, in which he described, among other things, how Polish airmen spent their free time — playing cards, dancing — and the addresses and details of people he met (especially women). One of the notebooks even contains a four-leaf clover kept for good luck. Among the memorabilia are also materials related to Margaret Scott, a close friend or even fiancee of Stanisław. These personal relationships reveal more than a dry account of completed missions; they show the life lived in England, plans, future prospects, attempts to build a small stability in the face of a terrible war, all ended by the pilot’s tragic death in 1944. Stanisław Caliński was only 22 years old at the time.
The exhibition was available to view in the Main Hangar until the end of 2025.
Exhibition curator: Ewa Cuber-Strutyńska
Task team: Jarosław Dobrzyński, Piotr Wilk, Piotr Kolasiński
Graphic design: PIXEL Arkadiusz Morawski
