In 1940, a group of Polish forces escaped the Vichy yoke by repairing a polish hulk the ORP Wilia (or Wilja) and sailing it to England from Casablanca in Morocco. Does anyone have any ideas of where I could find a list of the passengers and what happened to them. Please don't suggest Ancestry.com who gave me a totally weird response of an English woman's name which bore no relationship to the male Polish name I entered - and then I had to pay nearly £14 a month to see the result!
Look here : ADAMCZAK P. : ORP Wilia. Prz. Mor. 2013 nr 2 s. 101-107, 1 tab. Artykuł jest poświęcony okrętowi ORP "Wilia". W artykule autor zamieścił dane taktyczno-techniczne i historię morskiej służby ORP "Wilia". MARYNARKA WOJENNA, ORP WILIA, OKRĘT SZKOLNY, TRANSPORTOWIEC, POLSKA http://polska-zbrojna.pl/AppData/TinyMceFiles/pm2_2013.pdf Co do listy pasażerów , musisz Waśc ustalić nr konwoju , bowiem cześć takowych list jest NA - Kev . MJR
Hello Krakus57, Thank you for that link - it confirms that there were 262 people on board and is a semi-official report but unfortunately does not list the passengers. In spite of that, it tells me why the vessel was in Port Lyautey (Kenitra) when it was supposed to be in Casablanca. It also confirms sailing details from Gibraltar and arrival details in Liverpool. Many thanks Neville
Mate. have you tried "Secret Flotillas: Volume 2: Clandestine sea operations in the western Mediterranean, North Africa and the Adriatic, 1940-1944", by Richard Brooks? If I remember correctly (can't find me copy :angry: ) there´s a passenger list in there.
Hello Warlord, Thanks for that information; I will do my best to find a copy. If you are right about the passenger list, it will sort more problems for me than you could ever appreciate! Neville
