The 1st Independent Polish Parachute Brigade
(1 Samodzielna Brygada Spadochronowa)
Zeszyt Ewidencyjny P9
"Notebook Records" P9
Sections
- Polish - Od 3.IV.42 do 7.V.42 Ośrodku Zapasowego Wojska Polskiego Sredniego Wschodu - to the Auxiliary Centre of the reserve Polish Army in the Middle East
- English - P.S.W. - P(olskie) S(iły) W(ojenne)
Translation: Od 3.IV.42 do 7.V.42 transport z ZSRR do Ośrodku Zapasowego Wojska Polskiego Sredniego Wschodu - transport to the Auxiliary Centre of the Polish Army in the Middle East.
So was he transported from wherever he enlisted to the camp in Tockoje?, 28 p.p. evacuated in August, but it was part of the 10th Division, which was evacuated earlier!
Between March 24 and April 4, 1942, 10th Infantry Division was evacuated to Iraq (in Khanaquin in North Iraq was where General Anders had the HQ of the Polish Army) during the first evacuation and 27 April to Palestine, where they were incorporated into the 3 Carpathian Rifle Divisions. On May 6, 1942, the 10th Light Artillery Regiment (a reg. in the 10th Infantry) was renamed to the 3rd Carpathian Light Artillery Regiment.
So this date of May 6 may be crucial, as his journey "ended" May 7. Actually his "dates of transport" happen to be one day before the 10th evacuated to Iraq, and one day after the renaming of the regiment noted above.
March 1942 he's assigned to 28 p.p. By August 17 he was in Scotland. In Aug 1942 the 28 pp was in the process of being evacuated to Iraq and disbanded there.
So the transport definitely not affiliated with the 28 pp.
So it looks as if he was assigned to 28 P.P. in a cursory fashion, they had to put him somewhere for admin reasons. But a month later he's in transit to a holding camp awaiting further assignment. Hard to say, was he evacuated to Iraq with the 10th Infantry? Or sent to the Ośrodek in Tockoje?
But since it says "from" the USSR, I suppose that destroys the theory about it being the camp in Tockoje, which was in the USSR - Orenburg Oblast. So I suspect he was evacuated with the 10th division on the second last day of that evacuation. I'm not sure whether the journey took a full month or whether it's a reference to his length of stay in this Auxiliary Centre
So it took a month to get there, so probably train to Krasnovodsk, then sail across the Caspian, then travel to Iraq from Iran I suspect, and then eventually setting off for Scotland, another two months perhaps?
P.S.W. = Polskie Siły Wojskowe - Polish Armed Forces
Whereas the other one has Wojsko Polsie Średniego Wschodu - Polish Army in the Middle East.
Which is the clue we needed - he was transported to an Auxiliary Centre (transit camp) in the Middle East. So this solved the mystery of where the camp might be.
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