On walking through my local Cemetery I have noticed a good number of headstones for ex-Carpathian Lancers, who died post-war. The Carpathian Lancers was the name given to a group of Polish soldiers who escaped from their homeland when the Germans invaded in 1939. At the end of the war the remaining Regiments were brought to Grimsby and stayed in the military camp in Weelsby Woods while awaiting demobilisation. As Poland had then been occupied by communist Russia, nearly 1000 men stayed and settled in Grimsby after the unit was disbanded in 1947. On looking closer, there are also a similar number of Ukrainian nationals who died post war, but all born at a time when every single one of them would have been of fighting age during WW2. I have seen a few mentions of Ukrainians joining Polish Forces towards the end of WW2, but no mention of joining the Carpathian Lancers specifically. Another possibility is that they settled here after the war having been POW's at local camps. I know of one such camp 'locally' which held Ukrainians who were fighting for Germany. In case anyone has access to records, some of the Ukrainian names are as follows: Serhij Zalewsky Mykola Korzun Wasyl Pohorilyj Wasyl Markanycz Vladas Pranas Zeknys Iwan Frejiszyn Alex Szymanskyi All of the above names have the Ukrainian Army badge on their headstones. Any help would be appreciated
I only know about The Netherlands, but much of the Atlantic Wall here was manned by troops who had been captured on the eastern front and then volunteered to fight for the Germans. For example, battalions of troops from Georgia, Tartars, Armenians etc. were all stationed in The Netherlands. I can find no evidence of Ukrainian troops being here, but it is possible they were in Belgium or France and the men in the graveyard were captured again by the Allies and shipped to England.
Taking the first one Zalewsky - his wife is also buried at the same place: Serhij Zalewsky 1992 Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England Scartho Road (160-161) Barbara Joan Zalewsky 1931 2003 Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England Scartho Road (160-161) I assume they married after the war due to her age?? TD
England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 Name: Mykola Korzun Birth Date: 5 Aug 1924 Date of Registration: Sep 1982 Age at Death: 58 Registration district: Grimsby Inferred County: Humberside Volume: 7 Page: 0411 Perhaps his wife? Name: Elsie May Korzun Birth Date: 31 Dec 1931 Date of Registration: Nov 1986 Age at Death: 54 Registration district: Grimsby Inferred County: Lincolnshire Volume: 7 Page: 516 TD
England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 Name: Wysal Pohorilyj Birth Date: 26 Feb 1924 Date of Registration: Feb 1986 Age at Death: 62 Registration district: Grimsby Inferred County: Lincolnshire Volume: 7 Page: 579 England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005 Name: Wasyl Pohorilyj Date of Registration: Jan-Feb-Mar 1953 Registration district: Grimsby Inferred County: Lincolnshire Spouse: Mavis P Dann Volume Number: 3b Page Number: 568a TD
England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005 Name: Wasyl Markanycz Date of Registration: Jan-Feb-Mar 1967 Registration district: Grimsby Inferred County: Lincolnshire Spouse: Doreen Pratt Volume Number: 3b Page Number: 739 England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 Name: Wasyl Markanycz Birth Date: 29 May 1924 Date of Registration: Dec 1987 Age at Death: 63 Registration district: Grimsby Inferred County: Lincolnshire Volume: 7 Page: 560 Name: Wasyl Markanycz Birth Year: 1924 Burial Year: 1987 Burial Place: Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England Death Age: 63 Cemetery: Scartho Road (160-161) Last known address - 51 Henry Street, Grimsby TD
England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005 Name: Vladas Zeknys Date of Registration: Oct-Nov-Dec 1951 Registration district: Grimsby Inferred County: Lincolnshire Spouse: Joyce Traill Volume Number: 3b Page Number: 586 UK and Ireland, Obituary Index, 2004-2015 Name: Vladas Zeknys Death Date: 28 Dec 2009 Obituary Date: 4 Jan 2010 Newspaper Location: Nottingham, Eng, United Kingdom Spouse: Joyce Children: Annette and father-in-law Siblings: Fel; Valentinas Name: Vladas Pranas Zeknys Birth Year: 1921 Burial Year: 2009 Burial Place: Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England Death Age: 88 Cemetery: Scartho Road (160-161) TD
England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 Name: Iwan Frejiszyn Birth Date: 3 Jul 1921 Date of Registration: Jun 1982 Age at Death: 60 Registration district: Grimsby Inferred County: Humberside Volume: 7 Page: 0525 His wife?? Name: MS Peggy Primrose Frejiszyn Gender: Female Age: 84 Birth Date: 1927 Death Date: 20 Jul 2011 Residence Place at Death: Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England Postal Code District: DN31 There looks to be 6 children from this marriage Iwan Frejiszyn 1921 1982 Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England Scartho Road (160-161) Philip Frejiszyn Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England Scartho Road (160-161) Stefan Frejiszyn Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England Scartho Road (160-161) Peggy Primrose Frejiszyn 1927 2011 Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England Scartho Road (160-161) TD
A family tree: Alexander Szymanskyi Birth: 17 9 1926 (17 Sep 1926) - Ukraine Death: 17 5 1993 (17 May 1993) - Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England Seems as though Irene Parkin initially married Mr Pyka Name: Irene Parkin Date of Registration: Jan-Feb-Mar 1950 Registration district: Grimsby Inferred County: Lincolnshire Spouse: Karol Pyka Volume Number: 3b Page Number: 499 Then after he died she went onto to marry our man Name: Irene Pyka Date of Registration: Oct 1984 Registration district: Grimsby Inferred County: Lincolnshire Spouse: Alec Szymansky Volume Number: 7 Page Number: 213 England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 Name Alexander Szymanskyi Birth Date 17 Sep 1923 Date of Registration May 1993 Age at Death 69 Registration district Grimsby Inferred County Lincolnshire Register Number B43C District and Subdistrict 5481B Entry Number 107 TD
I know that my grand father came into the country during the war and I have his naturalisation certificate. I can only assume he came in via the weelsby wood camp - as they settled in Grimsby not to far away. My Grandmother was a local woman who was in the Land Army
At the end of the war, II (PO) Corps was in Bologna and costing the Treasury £3.5m per month. No longer recognised by the UK or US because we had deferred to Stalin and recognised the Polish Government in Warsaw and its army instead, these troops were switched to become the Polish Resettlement Corps and, after much debate, they were allowed to come to the come to the UK under the Polish Immigration Act 1947. Many passed through on their way to new lives in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand but many also stayed in the UK to be housed in disused airfield accommodation. Lincolnshire was heaving with disused airfields so they got a lot of Poles/Ukranians. Regards Frank
A possibility regarding Ukraine-connected WW2 settlers here as members of the Galician SS would definitely cross my mind. A visit to Cannock Chase Soldatenfriedhof always reminds of this curious bit of history; with late/post-war death dates. And the presence of a well-tended memorial there perhaps also implying a community that while (understandably) private, still kept in touch in some ways. Former soldiers of the Galicia Division Hmm. Not been to Cannock for ages. Might have to combine it with a planned return to the NMA this summer. Cannock Chase German Cemetery
Ian, I have a website about Scartho Road Cemetery and all the military men therein, so was hoping to find a link to the large number of Ukrainians and Polish men so I could add their names.
Yes I do - Mykola Korzun Birth Date: 5 Aug 1924 - This is my Grand Father and his friends where Wasyl Markanycz Date of Registration: Jan-Feb-Mar 1967 and Wysal Pohorilyj Birth Date: 26 Feb 1924 also Iwan Frejiszyn Birth Date: 3 Jul 1921 - This is my God Father hope that this helps Best Regards Ian