Walking in the Footsteps of Bolesław Dobrucki
Tracing My Dad’s Footsteps in London – An Introduction
Growing up, I heard countless stories from my dad about his incredible life. His story took him as a young boy from Poland to a war camp in Russia, through the Middle East, and then to the grounds of the Royal Air Force in England (just at age 14). Ultimately, Bolesław Dobrucki would make his life in the new world, starting in Canada and living nearly half of his life in the United States.
A remarkable part of his life journey occurred in England. This post provides a glimpse of our first visit to the United Kingdom. We structured our itinerary to visit a few places where my dad’s footsteps took him in the 1940s during WWII. This first installment traces his footsteps in London. There are additional places we visited – those are recounted in later articles on our website.
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Beginnings for Bolesław Dobrucki – Life in Poland
Born in Jaworów, Poland (present-day Yavoriv Ukraine), Bolesław Dobrucki (Bolek) took his first breath as a baby on March 14, 1928, along with his identical twin brother Adolph Dobrucki (Dolek). Just 12 years later, everyday rural life was disrupted.
Russians Order Evacuation of Jaworów Villagers
It was February 10, 1940, when the family dogs sensed danger. On a calm night, the Russians entered the village on horse-drawn sleighs. One sleigh with four soldiers stopped in front of the Dobrucki family home. Initially, the soldiers were kept at bay by the alarmed dogs. Demanding entrance to the home, crying and screaming emerged within the home as the armed Russians commanded, ‘Hands up!’.
The Russians ordered the family to get dressed as the family would be moved from the area, which was suddenly declared a military zone. The villagers had no viable choice but to comply with the evacuation orders.
The Dobrucki family donned as many clothing layers as they could manage. Grabbing pillows, blankets, and bed sheets, as many items as could fill a large chest were put inside, along with 100 kilos of meat from a pig butchered just the day before. The family’s mother, Bronisława Dobrucka, grabbed six loaves of bread and assorted food items to keep the family fed during the next few days of transport to Siberia.
Arriving at the local railway station, they waited through the night with many others until the cattle cars arrived. Packed like animals, the train made its way to the next station at Kalusz. There, even more victims of this Russian takeover of the Polish homeland were loaded onto the train cars, first traveling to Lwow, a center of deportation for millions of Polish people en route to camps in Siberia.
The Refugee Route of Bolesław Dobrucki
The Siberia chapter for the Dobrucki family is a hard one. Details captured for posterity are available in the book compiled by Dan Dobrucki, Survivors of War. After living in the Siberian camps, tens of thousands of Polish refugees made their way to the Middle East.
And a new adventure would commence in the Polish refugee camps in the Middle East. The Polish army continued to recruit young men, although the minimum age to enlist was 16. In the summer of 1942, the Dobrucki twins were just 14 years old and too young to join officially. However, their mother saw the opportunity out of refugee camp life. In this assembly of people where nearly nobody had official papers, she vouched that the boys were 16 years old and conveyed that they just appeared small for their age.
Soon, the boys joined other recruits and traveled by train, then by ship, to arrive in Tehran, where they would spend the next few months completing grade 5 studies. Then, they traveled to Palestine to assemble with nearly 1,200 other teenage boys.
In Palestine, Bolek and Dolek met with recruiters from Britain’s Royal Air Force. These representatives were seeking young men to enlist in the R.A.F. Technical School. Britain was building their Air Force to fight in the war, but with this military division came the need for skilled men to keep aircraft functional. Testing was offered to identify who among the young Polish boys had the aptitude to join the R.A.F. The Dobrucki twins were among 300 Polish boys selected to join this R.A.F. opportunity and began their journey to England.
Arrival at the R.A.F. Technical School in Halton
This journey was treacherous, and the Polish boys en route to England survived. The passage involved sailing from the Middle East, around the Cape of Africa, and ultimately to Liverpool. Along the way, the ocean waters were occupied by hostile submarines. Thanks be to God that the ship arrived safely in Liverpool. After landing at Liverpool’s docks, the Dobrucki twins made their way to Halton, England.
Along with nearly 300 young teens of Polish heritage, these students were integrated into the R.A.F. Technical School. However, due to the disruptions of everyday life, including schooling from 1939 through 1942, the Polish students were lacking in the academic progress of their British peers who were already in their high school years. Some of the young Polish recruits may have only had a grade school education but managed to keep up with the studies and rigorous curriculum the Royal Air Force offered.
The Polish brigade of boys comprised the first “foreigners” ever to attend the R.A.F.’s Air Force school. Bolesław Dobrucki was among this special group.
Polish Boys Without Family in England
As was common with boarding schools during this era, students would leave the campus during holidays to reconnect with family members. However, no family members lived in England for the nearly 300 Polish boys at the R.A.F Technical School. Seeking a solution, the school placed advertisements in local English newspapers seeking hosts for the Polish boys during holiday breaks. A tremendous response resulted in over 600 invitations available for the 300 boys.
Among the many hosts was the Countess of Jersey, who requested to take in two Polish boys from R.A.F. Halton. The Countess of Jersey was the American-born actress Virginia Cherill. Her fame in Hollywood’s movie culture came after playing the blind flower girl in Charlie Chaplin’s acclaimed movie “City Lights.” She married the wealthy Earl of Jersey and became known by the title “Countess of Jersey.”
Dolek and Bolek, the Polish twins, were selected to visit with the countess and her family at Richmond Palace. An immediate bond developed, and the Dobrucki twins would spend every vacation with The Earl and Countess of Jersey at their residences.
Visiting the WWII Residences of The Earl and Countess of Jersey
During our travels in the United Kingdom, we crafted an itinerary to include visits to two former homes of Virginia Cherill. With these stops, we planned to see where the Dobrucki twins likely spent holiday time during their years in England. The first stop on our list was Osterley House. At the time of our U.K. trip, we weren’t sure which of the homes would have been visited by Bolek and Dolek. However, we identified the most likely residences as Osterley House and Richmond Palace.
Next stop is London to find Osterley House and Richmond Palace
We left Bath on a summer morning, catching a 10:13 a.m. train to London Paddington Station. Our mission today was to arrive in London and begin exploring the footsteps of Bolesław Dobrucki.
The train marquee noted before approach that all seats were taken, so this would be a standing-room-only journey. We debated waiting a half hour to catch a more comfortable ride, but at 10:14 a.m., we found ourselves crammed like sardines in the rear end of one of the cars. My immovable spot was beside the potty – just lovely for most of this 95-minute journey.
The automatic door between the two cars where we were stuck kept banging into the pack on my back nearly every 4 seconds. Boom – boom – boom. Did I say this was a 95-minute ride?
At 11:50 a.m., we said hello to London. Our first objective was to figure out The Tube. In 5 minutes, we had our 7-day Oyster Card in hand for unlimited travel in zones 1-4 and were off to riding these rails like old pros.
Visiting Osterley House
Our earlier-than-expected arrival time in London was helpful to get more time tracing the footsteps of Art’s dad, Bolesław Dobrucki, who spent time here in the mid-1940s. Before arrival in London, our research identified Osterley Park and House as one of the residences where Virginia Cherrill (Lady Jersey) lived and where young Bolesław Dobrucki may have enjoyed a lavish respite from the harshness of WWII.
Read our Blog Post on Osterley House and Park
Virginia Cherrill Takes in the Dobrucki Twins – Bolesław and Adolph
Looking back to the history between Virginia Cherrill and the Dobrucki twins, Virginia wrote to their mother on a mission to formally adopt Dolek and Bolek after the time in London requesting perm. The adoption process was nearing completion when the marriage of Virginia and the Earl of Jersey started to unravel. Although a formal adoption was not completed, Virginia and the Dobrucki boys would remain close for the rest of their lives. She was known to the Dobrucki family as “Ciocia” or Aunt Virginia.
In Search of Richmond Palace for Bolesław Dobrucki’s London
We moved on to the Richmond district to find the grounds of Richmond Palace. During our UK trip, this was the second likely property identified as the holiday home for the Dobrucki twins during WWII. Since our trip, we confirmed this through photos and depictions in the book Survivors of War by Dan Dobrucki.
Read our Blog Post on Richmond Palace
Visiting the Trenchard Museum
One more visit took us outside of London to the town of Wendover. We visited the grounds of RAF Halton and the important collections at the Trenchard Museum there. Young Dobrucki was stationed at this military base during the WWII years, so it was a privilege to view the historical information preserved at this museum.
Read our Blog Post on the Trenchard Museum
A Polish Dinner in London to Celebrate Bolesław Dobrucki
After spending a day visiting sites in London connected to the young Polish service members stationed at R.A.F Halton during WWII, what better way to end than with a Polish dinner? We decided on a Polish restaurant in the South Kensington district for dinner, fitting given the events of the day.
Daquise Polish Restaurant is located in the South Kensington district. We dined on cabbage pierogi, beets with horseradish sauce, poached salmon, and potato dumplings. The service was reminiscent of what we could have imagined during the age of manners in the early 20th century. With a cherry vodka at the end of our meal, we toasted the memory of Bolesław Dobrucki.
Life After London For Bolesław Dobrucki
After WWII, Aunt Virginia invited the Dobrucki family for a visit to discuss the future. She suggested that the Dobrucki family should move to Canada. With a gracious offer of a loan to purchase a farm, the entire family relocated together and started a new post-war life. With a new foundation in the Western Hemisphere, Virginia told the family she would subsequently work on getting papers processed so the family could follow where she was next going, the United States.
The Dobrucki young men established themselves on the farm. However, that life did not suit everyone. Before long, Bolesław Dobrucki and brother Adolph gained employment at General Motors and departed farm life.
Virginia Cherill made good on her promise in the following years, and immigration papers for the U.S. arrived. Dolek and Bolek enthusiastically accepted the offer and ventured out for a new life in California.
In Search of Bolesław Dobrucki’s London – Podcast
On episode 18 of The Places Where We Go Podcast, Julie & Art visit Osterley House and Park in London, England. They also venture out to see nearby Richmond Palace. This is the first of several episodes where we talk about our travels to the greater London area and nearby parts of England. You can listen below or find this episode in your favorite podcast app.
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Thanks for reading. We hope to see you at the places where we go.
Julie & Art
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