In the autumn of 1940, the Polish Transport Unit was established in Takoradi (now Sekondi-Takoradi in Ghana). It operated under the British 1st Aircraft Delivery Unit (ADU). The task of the unit’s personnel was to transfer aircraft from the west coast of Africa to destinations including the Middle East, and later also to Italy and the Far East. In September 1943, the Polish pilots were transferred to Egypt and assigned, amongst others, to the British No. 3 Aircraft Delivery Unit.
During the Second World War, Captain Ryszard Figura made his way from occupied Poland to the United Kingdom and, after serving in various air force units, was assigned in January 1944 to the Polish Transport Squadron and seconded to the 3rd Aircraft Delivery Unit. On 26 August 1944, he took off from an airfield in North Africa bound for a destination in Italy, on a transport flight. Shortly after take-off, the aircraft sustained damage; the pilot turned back towards the airfield but struck a power station tower, causing the aircraft to catch fire and crash to the ground. All three crew members were killed. Captain Figura was awarded the Order of Military Valour (Virtuti Militari), 5th class. The deceased Pole was buried at the British cemetery, The Dely Ibrahim, in Algiers.
This cemetery also contains the grave of another Pole – Mikołaj Jefsiutyn (inscribed on the gravestone as Nikola Jefsioutine), a sailor in the Polish Merchant Navy, who was killed in action on 19 December 1942.
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/2013000/dely-ibrahim-war-cemetery/.

Regina Piątek (MKiDN), Teresa Zachara (MKiDN)