Jadwiga Piłsudska facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jadwiga Piłsudska
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| Born | 28 February 1920 |
| Died | 16 November 2014 (aged 94) Warsaw, Poland
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| Nationality | Polish |
| Spouse(s) | Andrzej Jaraczewski |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | Poland United Kingdom |
| Service/ |
.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 Józef Piłsudski.
Life and career
Piłsudska was born on 28 February 1920 in Warsaw, the younger daughter of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, Poland's Chief of State (1918–22) and dictator (1926–1935).
In 1937 Piłsudska 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. Piłsudska fled with her mother and elder sister to Lithuania and eventually arrived in the United Kingdom. She resumed her studies, in 1940, 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 one of several Polish women who served as wartime ferry pilots in Britain.
In 1944, she took a leave of absence to continue her studies by enrolling in the Polish School of Architecture at Liverpool University. In 1946 she graduated with an engineering degree in architecture.
In 1944, she also married Lieutenant Andrzej Jaraczewski, an officer in the Polish Navy. In 1977, she and her husband took part in the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II during the Thames River Pageant.
In 1990, with the collapse of the Communist government, she returned to Poland and lived in Warsaw. She died on 16 November 2014, in Warsaw at the age of 94. She has been honoured with a Bronze Cross of Merit with Swords and the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
Images for kids
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Marshal Piłsudski with daughter
See also
In Spanish: Jadwiga Piłsudska para niños
