WAR hero Jan Derych and his wife, Barbara, have just celebrated their golden wedding.

The couple, of Quarmby Road, Oakes, were married at Lindley Parish Church.

Mrs Derych, 71, is from Lindley, while Mr Derych, 80, comes from Silesia in Poland.

His family went to Siberia after his father was taken there as a prisoner, after the Soviet Union and their then allies, Germany, occupied Poland in 1939.

Mr Derych was granted Soviet citizenship, but dropped his age to 15 to avoid joining the Red Army.

In 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union.

Mr Derych hitch-hiked and walked 1,500 miles to Central Asia to join the Polish Army. He and 100,000 Polish soldiers sailed to British-controlled Persia.

He survived torpedo attacks, but was imprisoned in Morocco by the Nazi-supporting Vichy French.

In 1942, US forces freed him. He joined the Canadian Army, landing in Normandy just after D-Day, but was shot in the hand.

For his bravery he was awarded the Virtuti Militar, the Polish equivalent of the Victoria Cross.

He then came to Huddersfield and met his wife-to-be at the Adult School.

Both have been presidents of the national organisation.

Mr Derych, an ex-magistrate, is also a former union official and ex-Labour candidate for Kirklees.

The couple - both ex-school governors - have two sons, a daughter and seven grandchildren.

They celebrated their anniversary with a holiday at the Scarborough hotel where they spent their honeymoon. They also held a garden party for Kirkwood Hospice.