Wilhelm Orlik-Rückemann (1894-1986); studied at the Lwow (Lvov) Polytechnic in the department of road and bridge construction, his studies were interrupted by the First World War. In August 1914, he joined the Polish Legions. In 1917, he was conscripted into the Austro-Hungarian Army. On 4 November 1918, he transferred to the Polish Army. During the Polish-Ukrainian War in 1919, he was taken prisoner, but was released from it after the alliance between Piłsudski and Petlura. In 1932, he took command of the 9th Infantry Division, and six years later he was transferred to the position of deputy commander of the Border Protection Corps (KOP) in eastern Poland. The following year, he took command of this formation. After the USSR invaded Poland, Rückemann, having repulsed the first Red Army attacks, decided to break through with his subordinate troops towards Warsaw. On 1 October 1939, KOP units were attacked by the Soviet 45th Rifle Division. After a day-long defence, he gave the order to disband the unit. In order to avoid being taken prisoner, he forced his way through Lithuania and Sweden to Great Britain. Until the end of the war, he held various staff positions, including that of the General Inspectorate of the Polish Resettlement Corps in the UK from 1945 to 1947. After the war he settled in London and moved to join his family in Canada in 1972. He was decorated with, among others, the Order of Virtuti Militari and the Cross of Valour four times.