The extraordinary life of Polish WAAF veteran Władysława Kondracka

Fund beneficiary and former Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) veteran Władysława Kondracka has lived an extraordinary life. After being exiled to Siberia with her family as a child during the Second World War from her hometown in Poland, she has had a long and bumpy road to freedom. Marking her 100th birthday this year, we take a look back at Władysława’s incredible journey.

On 10 February 1940, Władysława and her family were woken up in their home in Przyszow, Poland, by uniformed Russian soldiers and ordered to pack up their things and leave in just one hour.

Władysława said: "We were exiled to Siberia, with the first stop in a town called Kotlas in Russia. We were herded onto a freight train and travelled for about three weeks until we arrived in Kotlas. There, we were transported in a horse-drawn wagon along the Dwina river, which lasted two weeks.

"We were then given barracks, where there were bunks made of wooden planks and ten families in one barrack. The conditions were awful – there was so much hunger, a lack of drinking water and lots of bedbugs and vermin. We worked in the forest, regardless of the weather conditions."

Władysława’s father volunteered for the Polish Army after the outbreak of the Second World War and left their family of seven. Sadly, Władysława never saw her father again.  

Thinking her father was still alive while in Russia, Władysława and her family tried to get a train from Siberia to the town where he was last based, however they were unsuccessful. With other Polish families, they were forced by Russian soldiers to harvest cotton, receiving 10kg of flour a day as payment. Władysława said: "There was terrible hunger there – we cooked soups from tree bark or potato shells."

She added: "One night we managed to escape, and after two days of wandering we reached a railway station. After much persuading, my mother managed to get us on a train to Jalalabad, showing the last letter we received from our father. We then found ourselves under the care of the XIII Regiment, stationed in Błagomieszczanka. It was there we found out that my father had died after a dysentery epidemic broke out."

The family then travelled through Tehran and sailed through the Persian Gulf to Africa. Władysława and her family ended up in Uganda, in the town of Masindi, where they lived in huts built especially for them. She started her secondary school education there, but did not graduate, because she applied to join the Polish Army in England in 1943.

Władysława bravely left her family and started a new chapter alone. She embarked on a large ship which had 10,000 people on it and, after 45 days, reached England. Władysława said: "The boat trip was not pleasant – it was 45 days in horrible conditions."

Władysława did three months of military training and an English Language course. After passing the exam, she joined the WAAF and was based in Hucknall near Nottingham, providing ground support.

It was there Władysława met her husband Stanisław Kondracki, who was a Radio Telegraphist in 300 Squadron. She said: "He was a wonderful man – he sang beautifully and was a wonderful dancer. His heart was full of hope and longing for his family in Poland – just like mine was. We fell in love and our son Ryszard was born in 1946 in Nottinghamshire."

After the war, Władysława and her family decided to move back to Poland after finding out he still had family members there. She said: "We were finally back home – we had each other and were happy. I was glad I didn’t have to cook soup from tree bark or potato shells – bread is sacred every day to this day."

In 1991, Władysława was awarded the Cross of Combat Deed in the West by the then President of the Republic of Poland and was promoted to the rank Retired Lieutenant in 2002. She is also an Honorary Citizen of Jaroslaw and has received multiple letters of congratulations from The President of Poland and the Prime Minister.

In more recent years, Władysława has been supported by the RAF Benevolent with financial assistance, enabling her son Ryszard to hire a carer and pay for general day-to-day items, which Ryszard said 'has been a great support' and has helped his mother during the cost-of-living crisis.

On 7 March 2025, Władysława will celebrate her 100th birthday.

After Poland was invaded by Germany during the Second World War, many of the existing Polish Air Force personnel came to the UK and joined the RAF to fight alongside the British during the war.  After the war, the Polish Air Force Association (PAFA) was set up to provide support and a network of clubs and amenities to help those who served. 

Some years later, when member numbers began to fall, the majority of their real estate was sold and the funds used to set up the PAFA Charitable Trust. These funds were used to provide financial assistance to eligible Polish RAF veterans and their families.

PAFA continued with this financial support until March 2011 when it was decided to dissolve their charitable trust and transferred remaining funds and all of their existing beneficiary files to the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund. The Fund has pledged to continue to provide grants to these Polish Air Force personnel for as long as is needed.

In total, the Fund has provided nearly £350,000 to its Polish beneficiaries since 2011, helping 177 individuals and providing 514 grants.