Jadwiga Piłsudska
| Jadwiga Piłsudska | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
28 February 1920 Warsaw, Poland |
| Died |
16 November 2014 (aged 94) Warsaw, Poland |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Other names | Jadwiga Jaraczewska |
| Education | Wanda Szachtmajer Female High School |
| Alma mater |
Newnham College, Cambridge Polish University Abroad |
| Occupation | architect |
| Employer | Office of Urban Planning (London County Council) |
| Spouse(s) | Andrzej Jaraczewski |
| Children | Krzysztof Józef Jaraczeski Joanna Maria Onyszkiewicz |
| Parent(s) |
Józef Piłsudski (father) Aleksandra Szczerbińska (mother) |
| Relatives | Wanda Piłsudska (sister) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |
 Poland United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
.svg){kind=small} Polish Air Forces RAF: Air Transport Auxiliary
|
| Years of service | 1942-1944 |
| Rank |
.svg){kind=small} Second Officer (Flying Officer) |
| Unit | 1st Ferry Pool, White Waltham |
| Awards |
     
|
Jadwiga Piłsudska-Jaraczewska (28 February 1920 – 16 November 2014) was a Polish pilot, who served in the Air Transport Auxiliary during the Second World War. She was one of two daughters of Marshal and Chief of State Józef Piłsudski.
Piłsudska was born on 28 February 1920, in Warsaw, Poland, the younger daughter of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, Poland's Chief of State (1918–22) and dictator (1926–1935), by the woman who would later become his second wife, Aleksandra Piłsudska (née Aleksandra Szczerbińska).
In 1937 Pilsudska began flying gliders and obtained a pilot's licence. In 1939 she graduated from secondary school and decided to study aircraft engineering at the Warsaw Polytechnic.
In September 1939, Poland was invaded by Germany, initiating the Second World War, and her family realized that under the circumstances it would be prudent to leave the country immediately. Piłsudska fled with her mother and elder sister, Wanda, to Lithuania and eventually arrived in the United Kingdom. She resumed her studies, in 1940, matriculating at Newnham College, Cambridge University in architecture.
Later she acquired her aircraft pilot's license, and in July 1942, she joined the Air Transport Auxiliary. With the rank of Second Officer (Flying Officer) she flew unarmed military aircraft in the skies of wartime Britain and was, with Anna Leska and the Lithuanian-Pole Barbara Wojtulanis, one of several Polish women who served as wartime ferry pilots in Britain.
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Wikipedia