Jaroslav Malý-Flight Lieutenant
Malý was commissioned into 310 Squadron at Duxford on the 13 July 1940, shortly after its formation on July 10. Malý died on June 5. 1941. He was serving as a Wing Commander with the Inspectorate of the Czechoslovak Air Force. The circumstances of his death are not known. (Marked with a red star in photo).
310 (Czechoslovak) RAF Squadron and their British flight commanders grouped in front of Hawker Hurricane Mark I, P3143 ‘NN-D’, at Duxford.
Anton Vanko – Pilot Lieutenant Colonel
Vanko escaped Czechoslovakia with two colleagues in April 1943 by hijacking a plane called ‘Antka’. They flew to Istanbul where they had to land due to engine trouble. After a perilous journey through the Middle East, they eventually arrived in Britain in October 1943. Vanko was assigned to spitfire and then transferred from the 57 Operational Training Unit to the 321 Czechoslovak air wing.
Vanko was a Spitfire pilot and was just starting an operational flight providing protective support for Lancaster Bombers on their way to Duisburg, Ger- many. Whilst in extreme weather conditions, he collided with another aircraft in Bradwell Bay airport and was killed.
Josef Ocelka-Wing Commander DFC
Was the pilot with the most operational flights for 311 squadron. He few forty-four operational flights totaling 224.5 hours. On the morning of 21 July 1942 at Brize Norton Airport, Ocelka was undertaking a test flight in a Beaufort Mk. II DD938. Shortly after take-off, his wing caught a hangar roof and he crashed. He and the two civilian employees were killed. After the fall of the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia in 1989 many of the free veterans were promoted in rank. Ocelka was one of them, receiving the rank of Major General.
Karel Macháček
He also had his medical studies interrupted but continued these at Sheffield University. His first posting on becoming qualified was to the Czechoslovak Military Hospital which occupied a wing of Hammersmith hospital. It served not only the needs of the military but also supported the Czechoslovak community in London. Later he became a Medical Officer in the RAF, his task to support the Czechoslovak squadrons and step in where their doctors were ill or there was a shortage of medical staff.
Bohuslav Šulc driving a military lorry in France 1944
was an artilleryman but with a student background. He was passionate that the brutal events in Prague should not be forgotten and became a leading figure in the formation of the National Union of Czechoslovak Students in Exile. The declared aim was not only to remember the Czechoslovak students who had been imprisoned but to create awareness of the events amongst the allied nations. In this endeavour, which attracted support through the free world, Slava Šulc and Karel Macháček became joint vice presidents and succeeded in getting 17 November declared as International Students Day. On active service, their paths separated and Slava served with distinction during the siege of Dunkirk during which time he was captured by the Germans. Many of our veterans worked hard during the war to become exemplary ambassadors for their country through sport, music and the arts as the general public’s knowledge of other countries and their people was extremely limited.
EDA HRABÁK
Had completed his pre-war national service but by profession was a boxer and welterweight champion of Czechoslovakia. He represented the Czechoslovak Army at Boxing after leaving the battlefields of France and successfully fought against several well- known British boxers. In his career, he had someone hundred and three bouts to his name.
MILOSLAV KAŠPAR
Was a professional soldier and attended the officer’s school before the war. However, his football talent was legendary and he had been offered a place in the prestigious club Sparta. Alongside his military duties in the infantry, his football skills were put to good use and he played for the Czechoslovak Army XI. The team, which included many international players provided important propaganda and supported local causes such as Spitfire Funds. But the most notable matches were the Inter-Allied meetings that sent a clear message from those who had left their countries that they would ‘carry on’ fighting. Mila was Chair of the Legionaries Association and served in that post for twenty years. He had the honour of meeting President Václav Havel at Brookwood during his visit in 1990.
ZIKA ASCHER
Nicknamed ‘the mad silk- man’ had been a champion skier, but his talents unusually led him to draw the public to the creative design skills of the Czechs. His family were involved in producing textiles. He had married Lída and whilst on honeymoon in Norway had learned that Czechoslovakia had been occupied. They decided to head for Eng- land. Zika joined the Czechoslovak army but was plagued by ill health and formally retired from military service. With his wife, he began to design prints originally using discarded parachute silk. Their design skills were such that they worked with famous artists such as Picasso and Henry Moore to produce a range of silk scarves. Interest in Ascher reached new heights when one of their silk shirts was worn by Princess Diana, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum. We have already mentioned in the guide the important role Czechoslovaks undertook in Special Operations and the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich.
KAREL MAXMILIAN MARTISCHNIG
He was a medical student at Charles University and shared a dormitory with student Jan Opletal, who was shot and became a national hero. Karel led his friend’s funeral procession which was attended by thousands. He then had to flee for his life. After fighting in France, he came to England and was allowed to continue his medical studies. On qualifying, he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps and posted to Burma where he supported the Chindits and took part in the Burma campaign amidst the dreadful medical challenges of jungle warfare that meant fighting not only the enemy but also disease.
This student connection unites many in Brookwood as it did during the war years.
Karel Jan Staller, (inventor of the Bren gun) and his wife.
He was a Technical Manager and engineer in the Zbrojovka Brno arms factory. He was responsible for the development of the light machine gun, the Bren gun, for the British, and for introducing its production in England. It was widely used during and after the war by the British Army and Commonwealth Forces and became known for its accuracy and reliability. After the Germans occupation of Czechoslovakia 1939 and through-out WWII, he remained in Zbrojovka as General Manager but managed to play an important role in the domestic resistance. He was a courier of useful information via Bratislava or Romania to the Czechoslovak Government-in-exile in London, using microfilms. This included technical drawings, arms production information and even intelligence he obtained from senior German officials such as Albert Goring and Wil- helm Voss. He also transferred money through foreign subsidiaries of Zbrojovka to finance the resistance and the Czechoslovak Government-in-exile. The post-February 1948 Communist regime threatened him with persecution, so in December 1949 he illegally escaped with his family to Salzburg, Austria and in May 1951 they started a new life in the USA.
JOSEF (JOE) SÜSSER
He is the most directly involved in the training that was done in connection with the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Having served in the pre-war Czechoslovak army as a telegraph officer his skills in linking communications between the Protectorate and Britain were vital. He trained radio operators for special operations and belonged to a group that focussed on the recruitment of suitable candidates for that exceptionally dangerous work. Invariably, he was regarded by the Communist authorities as one of the most dangerous individuals to their regime.
Marcel Ludikar who was Flight Sergeant on Liberator H BZ796, which sank the Alsterufer.
This next story involves Pilot Officer Oldřich Doležal, Flight Officer Zdeněk Hanuš, who was Navigator/Bombardier, Flight Sergeant Marcel Ludikar, who was Wireless Operator/Air Gunner and Flight/Sergeant, Ivan Schwarz, who was Wireless Operator/Air Gunner and their crew. They were flying in Liberator “H” BZ796 of 311 Squadron on the afternoon of 27 December 1943. They had been part of a Coastal Command attack on the German blockade runner M.V. “Alsterufer”, which was returning to Germany with a cargo of rubber, tin, and tungsten from the Far East. On 27 December the Alsterufer had sighted enemy aircraft and had radioed for help. They received a message that aircraft were on the way and gave the ship a radio frequency to listen to messages from them. What they hadn’t realized was this was not the radiofrequency the aircraft were using and subsequently heard nothing from them. Equally the aircraft heard nothing from the ship, so no support was given. The Alsterufer managed to ward off 2 attacks from Sunderland q of 422 Sqn, Sunderland “U” of 201 Squadron and aircraft “T” of 201 Squadron. The final attack came at 1607 on 27 December from Liberator “H” BZ796 of 311. It dropped two bombs, one landing near the aft of the ship creating a hole, the other on the hatch over Hold IV, crashing through it and exploding on the ratings’ mess deck, killing two. The fire broke out and there was a danger the ship’s magazine would explode. The crew decided to abandon ship in the lifeboats. Four hours later the Alsterufer finally sank. On return to the base, the sinking was celebrated by all. However, because of the rank system in the UK, Doležal and Hanuš celebrated the sinking in the Officers Mess, whereas their crew celebrated in the Non Commissioned Officers Mess. The two groups were not allowed to mix even though they all worked as a team to sink the Alsterufer. Doležal and Hanuš were awarded an immediate DFC the rest of the crew received a Czechoslovak War Cross 1939 in recognition of their contribution to the attack.
Major General Ivan Otto Schwarz
with President Andrej Kiska of Slovakia at Brookwood in June 2015. Gen Schwarz was buried in a civilian plot at Brookwood in February 2018 and was the last Slovak veteran to receive a full military funeral here.
JIŘÍ ŠNÁBL SCOTT
Jiri & Emily – HD 720p (1) – Copy
(Short video👆 click on the link for play)
was a reservist infantryman when he was first mobilized in 1938 to defend his homeland. Married the following year he then had to leave his beloved Emily and did not see her for six years. He served with Gabčík and Kubiš before they left England for Operation Anthropoid. He volunteered to be considered to take part in the secret war and went through the grueling training in the Highlands of Scotland. During his last parachute jump at Manchester, Ringway he received serious injuries when his chute collapsed in a gust of wind. Instead of an honorable retirement, he chose to return to military duties and saw active service as a tank gunner at Dunkirk. Sadly, on his return to Prague, he learnt his mother and father had been rounded up and perished in Auschwitz.
ARNOŠT POLÁK
He was a teenager when his parents decided to send him and his brother Félix on a Kindertransport Trains from Prague to London. The intention was they were to train as farmhands and then move over to Australia. However, the outbreak of war prevented that happening. Instead, Arnošt enlisted as soon as he was 18 with the RAF becoming a Wireless Operator and Gunner. He was posted to 311 Squadron where he undertook 63 operational flights with a total of 730 flying hours. In December 1944 he transferred to 246 Transport Command Squadron transporting VIP’s and military personnel to liberated allied war zones for the remainder of the war. Arnošt was the last Chairman of the Free Czechoslovak Air Force Association.
Jaromir Strihavka
was born on 27th June 1914 in Lipnice, Czechoslovakia. On 1st October 1932, he joined the Military Aviation Academy at Prostejov as a cadet. He completed his training in 1934 and was assigned to the 3rd Aviation Regiment at Piestany.
In 1938 he was sent as an observation pilot to the 13th Squadron of the Regiment at Spisska Nova Ves. When the Germans took over Czechoslovakia in March 1939 Strihavka was demobilised. He escaped to Poland on 24th June and reported to the Czechoslovak Consulate in Krakow. They arranged for him to travel by train to Gydnia from where he sailed to France.
Strihavka was required to join the French Foreign Legion but war was declared just as he due to be posted to the Legion base in Algeria. He was posted to l’Armee de l’Air instead and sent to the Ecole de Pilotage at Avord for re-training on French equipment.
On 16th January 1940, he was transferred to CIC Chartres for retraining on French equipment, which he completed on 23rd May. He was then posted to Cazaux airfield near Bordeaux but the French capitulated before he could join an operational unit. He was evacuated by ship from Bordeaux to England.
Shortly after his arrival in England, he was transferred to the Czechoslovak Airman’s Depot at Cosford and on 2nd August he was enrolled in the RAFVR. He went to 6 OTU at Sutton Bridge to convert to Hurricanes and was posted from there to 85 Squadron. On 23rd October he was posted to 310 Squadron.
Strihavka stayed with 310 Squadron until 15th August 1941 when he was posted to 19 Squadron. On 12th June 1942, he returned to 310 Squadron.
Having completed his first tour he was posted to 56 OTU at Sutton Bridge as a flying instructor.
On 1st February 1943, he returned to 310 Squadron for his second operational tour. His last operational flight was on 30th June 1944 after which he was posted on flying instructor duties at 56 OTU Tealing.
On 15th May 1945, he was posted to 313 Squadron where he remained until August. On 7th August he flew one of a group of fifty-four Spitfires back to Czechoslovakia and rejoined the Czech Air Force, in which he attained the rank of Staff Captain.
Following the communist takeover in February 1948 Strihavka was dismissed from the Air Force.
On 18th June 1948, he escaped across the border to the American Zone in Germany.
He married Miss Wurf in November 1943 in Cambridge
Later he returned to England. He changed his name to P J Scott. He died on 9th July 1994 in Cambridge.