Gulag to Spitfire : A Polish Serviceman's Fight to Survive in the Second World War

Military history, war, immigration and an incredible tale of survival collide in this thrilling and personal account of the Second World War.

Few beyond those who have escaped the realities of war today can understand some of what was involved in being sent to Stalin’s Siberia, and to escape, only to be thrown into the maelstrom of flak over Northern Europe in early 1945. This was the reality that faced Kazimierz Tomas Hubert, known to all as Tomek.

The son of the military governor for Lwów (modern-day Lviv), after Russia invaded Poland in September 1939 Tomek was banished as a political prisoner to the notorious Vorkuta Gulag in the Artic Circle. He survived summary executions, starvation and even the threat of cannibalism to escape and walk 6,000 km to freedom.

Reaching the relative safety of Tehran, he then crossed war-torn Europe to be recruited by No. 317 (Polish) squadron, flying Spitfires against the Luftwaffe in Belgium, Holland and North Germany.

The end of the war saw his home city given to Soviet Ukraine as part of the Yalta Agreement.

Like all Polish servicemen, he was ignored by the post-war government and his British wife, Angela Oakshott, lost her citizenship despite working for Bletchley Park because of his Polish nationality. In this moving tale of endurance against all odds, Andrew Hubert traces his father’s footsteps from the gulags of Siberia to flying spitfires in the air battles against the Luftwaffe.

It is a remarkable account of the Second World War and its impact.