Huddersfield veteran of Warsaw Uprising returns for 65th anniversary commemoration

Aug 21 2009 By Barry Gibson

VETERAN resistance fighter Bernard Cywinski is back home in Huddersfield after being honoured in his native Poland.

The Marsh man took part in four days of commemorations on the 65th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising.

Bernard, 81, met dignitaries and fellow veterans during the memorial events for the thousands of Polish civilians and fighters who died during the uprising.

He said: “When the church bells started ringing to mark the start of the fighting it brought back all my worst memories.”

Bernard was just 16 when he joined the poorly-armed Polish Home Army’s 63-day struggle against the might of Nazi Germany. He was injured during the fighting, which claimed the lives of thousands of Poles, including his brother Tadeusz.

Bernard, who has lived in Huddersfield since 1946, returned to Warsaw for the 65th commemoration with his wife Joan, 82, and their grand-daughter Lydia, 27.

On August 2 they attended a ceremony at the Museum of the Warsaw Uprising.

Bernard said: “There were a lot of dignitaries there including the president of Poland. We went to Freedom Garden behind the museum, which lists the names of all the people who died.

“I met a man there called Zbigniew Sieradzki whose brother was killed during the uprising.

“When he died his comrades couldn’t get him to the cemetery so they buried him in the ground with a bottle tied round his neck so that he could be identified when his body was excavated.

“My wife and I helped Zbigniew find his brother’s name on the monument. When he saw the name he started to cry.

“The following day we bumped into him in the hotel and he threw his arms around us and said he would keep in touch.”

Bernard and his family also attended a civic reception at Warsaw City Hall where they met the Lord Mayor. They also went to an open-air mass and concert at the monument and to a changing of the guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.