During the Second World War, Lieutenant (Engineer) Janusz Zbyszyński made his way from occupied Poland to the United Kingdom. He was initially assigned to the 308th ‘Krakow’ Fighter Squadron as a technical officer; from January 1943, he served in the Polish Transport Unit at Takoradi (now Sekondi-Takoradi in Ghana). In August 1943, he was posted to the 178th Squadron of the RAF to undertake technical training on Liberator aircraft.
On 19 November 1943, together with a British crew, he took off as a flight engineer on a combat mission to lay mines at the entrance to the port of Candia (now Heraklion) in Crete. The aircraft, presumably damaged by anti-aircraft fire, crashed at Ano Fortetsa in Crete. The entire crew were killed. Lieutenant Zbyszyński was awarded the Cross of Valour.
The Polish officer’s remains were exhumed from a temporary burial site and reinterred at the British military cemetery in Suda Bay, Crete. The vertical gravestone bears the Polish coat of arms and an inscription in English: “Flying Officer / J. Zbyszyński / Flight Engineer / Polish Air Force / 19 November 1943”.
The cemetery is maintained and managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). Information about the cemetery, including a list of those buried there (of various nationalities) and photographs of the cemetery, can be found on the website https://www.cwgc.org/visit-us/find-cemeteries-memorials/cemetery-details/69004/suda-bay-war-cemetery/.

Regina Piątek (MKiDN), Teresa Zachara (MKiDN)