Canada

Last Polish Battle of Britain pilot dies aged 97

The last of the Polish pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain has died at the age of 97.

Brigadier General Tadeusz Sawicz died on October 19 at a nursing home in Toronto, Canada.

Sawicz was the last surviving pilot among the 144 Poles who served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and fought in the 1941 battle.

He is credited with shooting down three German aircraft, and has been awarded Poland's Virtuti Military medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross from Britain, the US, and the Netherlands.

Sawicz has lived in Canada since 1957, and is survived by his wife Jadwiga.

A service is planned for him in Warsaw.