A Polish Special Forces Soldier in the British Army!?

Right, let me explain something before I get called the obligatory 'idiot' or 'git'.

I have two Gt. Grandparents, but the one we are focusing on today is Korporal Franciszek Wesolowski, who served in the Polish Special Forces.

Now, I love History and this is why this interests me so much, as someone who is more a self proclaimed expert

When I found my Gt. Grandfathers documents I saw one which was so... interesting.

The document said 'Samodziel Kompany', something I had not heard off before.
When doing some research, I realised that the Samodziel Kompany was infact Troop 6 of the British Armies No.10 Commando.

Now, when reading some Ministry of Defence documents, it said (even though I already knew this) that he was forced to join the German Army for three years before the British took him as a prisoner of war in Italy.

Now it says on this document that he:
Joined the Polish Forces under British Command and was posted to 1 Independent Grenadier Company, 1 Polish Corps then transferred to 25 Pomorksi Infantry Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, 1 Polish Corps.

This is just very confusing, perhaps I am missing something.
Perhaps the certificate just stated he got his Parachute training or something along them lines.

I will include documents below.

Thanks.

(This image was too big to upload: Imgur
Imgur
Imgur)

 

Apply for his British Army service records - Request records of deceased service personnel there may be members here who could help provide links to his German Army service records

These, especially the British ones would be a really good starting point for your research as they will give you facts

TD

 

England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007
Name: Franciszek Boleslaw Wesolowski
Death Age: 75
Birth Date: 16 Sep 1923
Registration Date: Jul 1999
Registration district: Horsham
Inferred County: West Sussex
Register Number: 45C
District and Subdistrict: 7831

You will need a copy of his death cert when applying

TD

 

Possible assistance for German records

Private matters/ research | Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt)


Assets | Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt)

 

Hi,

The reason TD suggests you apply for his service records is because since you received the MOD summary of service in 2009 policy has changed so that under Freedom of Information Act MOD now supply original documents. One would assume the same process and rules will apply to Polish Forces serving under U.K. command.

This is the German Service record contact details -

Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt)
Eichborndamm 179, 13403 Berlin, Germany
www.dd-wast.de

If I was you I’d wait for a reply from MOD before applying to German authorities as U.K. papers may contain helpful material to assist in any enquiry in Germany.

Good Luck

Steve

EDIT TO ADD

I would include copies of the 2009 letter with the application. If you paid for that enquiry I would suggest that you ought to enquire whether you need to pay the £30 fee usually required nowadays for service record enquiries.

FURTHER EDIT TO ADD

You might want to make an enquiry with Red Cross in Switzerland, via below link, as they ought to have details of his time as a POW in Italy/U.K.-

Requests for information about people held during Spanish Civil War or the Second World War: Quarterly limit reached

You’ll need to quick off the mark 20th May and will need to check the site for the drop down application form from 8am U.K. time - then every 30 minutes until it opens - as previously the site has closed by mid morning due to the quarterly limit being reached.

It is a free service and you get a reply by post after about 4 months.