Józef Bartosik
Encyclopedia
Józef Czeslaw Bartosik, CB
, DSC
(July 20, 1917 – January 14, 2008) was a Polish
Naval officer, born in Topola Wielka
near Ostrów Wielkopolski
, who served in Polish destroyers during World War II
, under British naval command. Shortly after World War II he joined the British Royal Navy
and advanced to the rank of rear admiral
, before his retirement in 1969. He died in England
in January 2008.
. He graduated in 1938 and in 1939 he was the first watch officer in the cadet schooner ORP Iskra. During the latter half of 1939, he led the wooden sailing ship on a voyage through the Mediterranean and into Southern Atlantic waters. On learning of the 1939 invasion of Poland by Nazi forces, Iskra returned from the Atlantic and left two crew members with the ship in Morocco
. Along with the rest of Iskras crew, Bartosik boarded a French ship and departed for France, where after deliberations between the French Navy's War Department and free Polish forces
, he reported as a member of the reserve officer group at the ship-base ORP Gdynia
in Great Britain.
In 1940, he served as a watch keeping officer and deputy gunnery officer aboard the destroyer ORP Błyskawica. During this time, he was instrumental in Błyskawicas downing of two Luftwaffe
aircraft during the Norwegian campaign
. He was also in the first crew of the destroyer ORP Garland
where he was a watch keeping officer. After the promotion to first lieutenant in 1941 he took over responsibilities of the gunnery officer. In Garland he participated in action in the Mediterranean and the raid on Spitsbergen
involving the evacuation of the Norwegian Royal family; as well as serving in convoys in the Arctic, Atlantic, Icelandic and the Mediterranean. In 1942 he became flag lieutenant to the chief operating officer of the navy. In 1943 he served aboard Błyskawica as the gunnery officer and participated in Operation Neptune
. In 1944 he was promoted captain
and returned to the department of the navy. In 1945 he became the gunnery officer of the cruiser Conrad. Bartosik helped to carry Red Cross supplies to Norway and Denmark before Conrad was returned to the Royal Navy in September 1946. For his actions he was awarded a Virtuti Militari, a Cross of Valour and a British DSC.
ahead of his British DSC. He was dispatched to the service on escort vessels. From 1955-58 he was the commander of the frigate HMS Comus. From 1960 to 1961 he led the Fifth Frigate Squadron from HMS Scarborough
. From 1962-63 he was commander of Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose. From 1964-65, he commanded the guided missile destroyer London
, and from 1966 to 1968 he was Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Operations). In 1969, he retired with the rank of rear admiral.
During his time in command of London he was involved in a notorious incident. Having sacked his second-in-command in the newly-commissioned guided-missile destroyer London in late 1965, he was sent the strong character Mike Henry as a replacement. When London arrived in Singapore for maintenance work Bartosik, for unspecified reasons, had him placed under arrest in his cabin. Mike Henry endured this treatment, but the Fleet chaplain had to intervene with the Captain of the Fleet to obtain his release. Later Bartosik is alleged to have written to Rear-Admiral Horace Law, then Flag Officer Submarines, saying that he considered Henry unsuitable for an important submarine appointment “understood to be impending”. Law’s reply is said to have been one of the few occasions when Bartosik’s legendary malevolence was checked.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, DSC
Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...
(July 20, 1917 – January 14, 2008) was a Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Naval officer, born in Topola Wielka
Topola Wielka
Topola Wielka is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Przygodzice, within Ostrów Wielkopolski County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. It lies approximately south-east of Ostrów Wielkopolski and south-east of the regional capital Poznań.The village has a...
near Ostrów Wielkopolski
Ostrów Wielkopolski
Ostrów Wielkopolski is a town in central Poland with 72,360 inhabitants , situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship; the seat of Ostrów Wielkopolski County.-History:Recently, a small fortified dwelling dating from the 10th century was discovered on the north-east side of...
, who served in Polish destroyers during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, under British naval command. Shortly after World War II he joined the British Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and advanced to the rank of rear admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
, before his retirement in 1969. He died in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in January 2008.
Wartime service in the Polish Navy
In 1935, at the age of 18, he joined the Naval officer cadet school in ToruńTorun
Toruń is an ancient city in northern Poland, on the Vistula River. Its population is more than 205,934 as of June 2009. Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland. The medieval old town of Toruń is the birthplace of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus....
. He graduated in 1938 and in 1939 he was the first watch officer in the cadet schooner ORP Iskra. During the latter half of 1939, he led the wooden sailing ship on a voyage through the Mediterranean and into Southern Atlantic waters. On learning of the 1939 invasion of Poland by Nazi forces, Iskra returned from the Atlantic and left two crew members with the ship in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. Along with the rest of Iskras crew, Bartosik boarded a French ship and departed for France, where after deliberations between the French Navy's War Department and free Polish forces
Polish Armed Forces in the West
Polish Armed Forces in the West refers to the Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its allies...
, he reported as a member of the reserve officer group at the ship-base ORP Gdynia
SS Kosciuszko
The SS Kościuszko was a Polish passenger ship, named after Tadeusz Kościuszko.She was originally a liner Tsarina and later Lituania before becoming the Kościuszko and afterwards Empire Helford....
in Great Britain.
In 1940, he served as a watch keeping officer and deputy gunnery officer aboard the destroyer ORP Błyskawica. During this time, he was instrumental in Błyskawicas downing of two Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
aircraft during the Norwegian campaign
Norwegian Campaign
The Norwegian Campaign was a military campaign that was fought in Norway during the Second World War between the Allies and Germany, after the latter's invasion of the country. In April 1940, the United Kingdom and France came to Norway's aid with an expeditionary force...
. He was also in the first crew of the destroyer ORP Garland
ORP Garland
HMS Garland, also known by her Polish designation ORP Garland, was a G-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1930s. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 the ship spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of...
where he was a watch keeping officer. After the promotion to first lieutenant in 1941 he took over responsibilities of the gunnery officer. In Garland he participated in action in the Mediterranean and the raid on Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Constituting the western-most bulk of the archipelago, it borders the Arctic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea and the Greenland Sea...
involving the evacuation of the Norwegian Royal family; as well as serving in convoys in the Arctic, Atlantic, Icelandic and the Mediterranean. In 1942 he became flag lieutenant to the chief operating officer of the navy. In 1943 he served aboard Błyskawica as the gunnery officer and participated in Operation Neptune
Operation Neptune
The Normandy landings, codenamed Operation Neptune, were the landing operations of the Allied invasion of Normandy, in Operation Overlord, during World War II. The landings commenced on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 , beginning at 6:30 AM British Double Summer Time...
. In 1944 he was promoted captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
and returned to the department of the navy. In 1945 he became the gunnery officer of the cruiser Conrad. Bartosik helped to carry Red Cross supplies to Norway and Denmark before Conrad was returned to the Royal Navy in September 1946. For his actions he was awarded a Virtuti Militari, a Cross of Valour and a British DSC.
Post-war service in the Royal Navy
In 1948 he was one of only three Polish officers to be accepted by the RN out of several hundred who volunteered. It meant relinquishing his wartime rank of lieutenant-commander, and he was appointed to the battleship Anson as a lieutenant with seniority from July 1941. His draft to Anson was nearly rescinded when her captain noticed that Bartosik dared to sport his Polish Virtuti MilitariVirtuti Militari
The Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war...
ahead of his British DSC. He was dispatched to the service on escort vessels. From 1955-58 he was the commander of the frigate HMS Comus. From 1960 to 1961 he led the Fifth Frigate Squadron from HMS Scarborough
HMS Scarborough (F63)
HMS Scarborough was a Whitby-class or Type 12 anti-submarine frigate of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. She was named after the town of Scarborough in the county of North Yorkshire....
. From 1962-63 he was commander of Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose. From 1964-65, he commanded the guided missile destroyer London
HMS London (D16)
HMS London was a County-class destroyer of the Royal Navy.-History:She commissioned at Swan Hunter's yard in Wallsend in 1963 under Captain J.C. Bartosik and initially was fully employed setting her armament to work, successfully firing her Seaslug for the first time off Aberporth in April 1964...
, and from 1966 to 1968 he was Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Operations). In 1969, he retired with the rank of rear admiral.
During his time in command of London he was involved in a notorious incident. Having sacked his second-in-command in the newly-commissioned guided-missile destroyer London in late 1965, he was sent the strong character Mike Henry as a replacement. When London arrived in Singapore for maintenance work Bartosik, for unspecified reasons, had him placed under arrest in his cabin. Mike Henry endured this treatment, but the Fleet chaplain had to intervene with the Captain of the Fleet to obtain his release. Later Bartosik is alleged to have written to Rear-Admiral Horace Law, then Flag Officer Submarines, saying that he considered Henry unsuitable for an important submarine appointment “understood to be impending”. Law’s reply is said to have been one of the few occasions when Bartosik’s legendary malevolence was checked.
Author
Bartosik was the author of the book Faithful Ship published in 1947, by Orbis of London, listed by the British library, System number: 000217951, Shelf Mark: 9102.a.32.Honours and awards
- Silver Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari
- Cross of Valour
- Marine Medal, 3 times
- Companion of the Order of the BathOrder of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(military) (UK) - Distinguished Service CrossDistinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...
(UK) - 1939-1945 Star (UK)
- Africa StarAfrica StarThe Africa Star was a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth, awarded for service in the Second World War.The Star was awarded for a minimum of one day service in an operational area of North Africa between 10 June 1940 and 12 May 1943...
(UK) - Atlantic StarAtlantic StarThe Atlantic Star was a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth, awarded for service in World War II.The star was awarded for six months service afloat, in the Atlantic or in Home Waters, within the period 3 September 1939 to 8 May 1945...
(UK) - France and Germany StarFrance and Germany StarThe France and Germany Star was a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth, awarded for service in World War II.The medal was awarded for operational service in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Germany from 6 June 1944 to 8 May 1945...
(UK) - War Medal 1939–1945War Medal 1939–1945The War Medal 1939–1945 was a British decoration awarded to those who had served in the Armed Forces or Merchant Navy full-time for at least 28 days between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945. In the Merchant Navy, the 28 days must have been served at sea...
(British)