by Emma Fraser
However, he waited until she was seated opposite him before he sank back in his chair. The room was filled with books and Sarah cocked her head to one side to read the spine of the one on the table next to her. The title was in Polish.
‘Tea? Coffee?’ Jozefa asked.
‘Tea would be lovely.’
Dr Wilinski waited until his daughter had left the room. ‘Jozefa tells me you’re trying to find someone who may have been at the medical school in the Second World War. Is that correct?’
‘Yes. Two women, actually. A Magdalena Drobnik and an Irena. I’m afraid I don’t have Irena’s last name. Apparently it sounded like crash.’
He smiled, his cheeks sinking a little in his already gaunt face. ‘Kraszewska?’
‘I don’t know. Could be.’
‘Irena Kraszewska.’ He rolled the words around his mouth. ‘The name sounds familiar. Yes, I believe she was one of the students.’
A tingle ran up Sarah’s spine. ‘Can you tell me anything about her?’
‘What do you know about the Paderewski Hospital?’
‘Very little. I gather there were medical students – refugees – from Poland who studied there.’
‘Then you know more than most.’ He looked pleased. ‘After Poland was invaded many hundreds of Polish doctors and medical students ended up in Britain, particularly Scotland. I was one of them. I was in the Polish army – I escaped…’ He was silent for a few moments. ‘Professor Jurasz was the driving force behind the hospital. He thought it was important that we continued our studies so he persuaded some influential Scottish professors to lend their support to a Polish medical school. We were given part of the Western General – a block that used to house the children’s wards – to use as a Polish hospital. It was well equipped, thanks to financial aid from the Paderewski fund in New York. We were also given access to the teaching at the Royal Infirmary.’
‘Was it only Polish troops that studied there? What about women?’
‘You’re quite right. It wasn’t just troops. Although most of the doctors and medical students were in the army, Polish civilians who’d been medical students were welcome too. It opened in March nineteen forty-one and there were two women in the first year and, if I’m remembering correctly, Irena was one of them.’
‘Do you remember the other woman’s name?’
He shook his head. ‘No, but I don’t think it was Magdalena.’
Jozefa came in with a tray and set it down on the coffee table. ‘You should keep the rug on your knees, Father,’ she scolded, reaching down for the blanket that had fallen to the floor and replacing it across her father’s lap.
‘Never think we’d survived a war,’ Dr Wilinski muttered, but behind his daughter’s back, he winked. ‘Do you know there were thousands of us – Poles, I mean – fighting in Britain during the war?’ he continued.
‘Now, Papa, don’t start —’ Jozefa began but her father cut her off.
‘If Sarah wants to find out about two Polish women I’m sure she’ll be interested in our history.’ He looked to Sarah and when she nodded encouragingly, he continued. ‘Our boys flew with the RAF during the Battle of Britain. They had more kills than any squadron. They were fearless. Their fellow pilots knew that, of course…’ He took a noisy gulp of tea. ‘They were also paratroopers, commandos, in the Royal Navy – everywhere. They even took Monte Cassino for the British.’ He paused. ‘No, not for the British, for Poland. Because that’s what we all wanted – an end to the Nazi regime and to return to our country. We couldn’t fight in Poland, although many of us did with the resistance, so we fought alongside the British in order that Poland could be free. Of course, we didn’t know that the British would betray us again by signing over Poland to the Russians.’ He leaned forward. ‘Do you know not a single Pole was invited to take part in the victory parade in London in ’forty-six? Czechs marched, Chinese, Indians – every nationality that fought alongside Britain except us. All because the British government didn’t want to offend Stalin. After all we’d done.’
‘It wasn’t as simple as that, Papa,’ his daughter remonstrated gently. ‘The British government has apologised, and there is that lovely memorial to the Polish Air Force near Northolt.’
‘Too little, too late.’ He shook his head as if to chase the images away. ‘But you’re right, my dear, there is no point in raking up old grievances, especially as Poland is free again. Took fifty years, but she’s free.’
‘I’m not sure that’s what Sarah has come to learn,’ his daughter said. ‘Why don’t I leave you two to talk?’
He waited until they were alone again, before he continued. ‘I’m sorry. Your being here does rather bring it all back. Let’s return to what you want to know. I’m pretty certain about Irena Kraszewska, although the name Magdalena doesn’t ring a bell. Doesn’t mean to say she wasn’t there – my memory for names isn’t as good as it once was.’ He pushed the blanket aside and heaved himself out of the chair again. ‘But I do have something that might help. I’ve been collecting as much as I can from those days. One of my colleagues is writing an account of the Polish Hospital and he’s asked for my help in compiling memorabilia from that time. I think I have a book in my study upstairs that lists all the graduates. If you’d excuse me for a few minutes?’
While she waited for him to return, Sarah studied the books on the shelf. Apart from the medical books and several in Polish, they were mostly non-fiction – history and autobiographies. She also discovered a couple of contemporary romances she was pretty sure didn’t belong to the older Dr Wilinski. She liked the thought that the erudite woman who’d invited her here might be a secret reader of romances.
She’d finished her tea by the time he returned. ‘It was under a pile of papers in a corner,’ he said. ‘Took me a bit of time to find it. Knew it was there, though.’ He laid an ordinary hardback notebook on the table, changed his glasses and started flicking through it. ‘Ah, yes,’ he said. ‘Here she is. Irena Kraszewska – graduated in nineteen forty-three.’ Sarah held her breath as he continued flicking. ‘No, no mention of a Magdalena.’ He turned to Sarah. ‘I remember Irena quite well. She was a good student, excellent actually. Kept herself to herself. All she really wanted to do was work.’
‘Do you know where she went – what she did when she graduated?’
He shook his head. ‘She left pretty soon after she qualified. Many of our students stayed and worked as doctors here or in other parts of Britain, but Irena,’ he shrugged again, ‘she simply disappeared.’
Sarah chewed the inside of her lip unable to think of anything else she could ask that might help. She’d been so sure that he’d be able to tell her more about Magdalena or Irena, but it seemed she was no closer to finding either.
Chapter 30
Scotland, 1941
Irena had slept fitfully on the train, wakening every time it pulled into a station with a screech of metal on metal. Then there would be the bangs and crashes as porters loaded supplies on board as well as the muted chatter of passengers as they boarded the train.
When she joined Richard in the dining car for breakfast the next morning, they were, he said, still in England.
‘We’re not far out of Carlisle,’ he told her as a waitress poured their coffee.
‘Where is Carlisle?’ she asked.
‘Just about on the border between Scotland and England.’
‘Isn’t that close to where Aleksy is?’
‘Fairly. Dumfries is about an hour away. By car, that is.’
‘There might be a bus.’
‘Possibly. I couldn’t say for sure.’
‘I would like to get off at Carlisle,’ Irena said. She couldn’t bear to be so close to her brother and not see him.
Richard looked at Irena, raised an eyebrow, then smiled broadly. ‘Go and get your stuff together. Lord knows how we’ll get to Edinburgh but we’ll worry about that later.’
Irena could have kissed him for not trying to argue with her
.
He beckoned to the train conductor. ‘When will we reach Carlisle?’
‘Who can say, sir. Perhaps in fifteen minutes, perhaps an hour.’
It was, in fact, half an hour before the train pulled into the station. It had only taken Irena a few minutes to pack her case and she was waiting for Richard outside her compartment when he came for her.
‘The conductor tells me we will probably have to take another train to Dumfries and then find a taxi to take us to the airfield. You do know your brother might be on a sortie when we get there?’
‘Then I will wait. You mustn’t feel you have to wait with me. I am sure you would rather go on to Edinburgh and see your mother. I don’t want you to waste your leave on me.’
‘I couldn’t possibly abandon you to your own devices. Anyway, Mother will probably be at work,’ Richard said. ‘That’s where she spends most of her time.’
‘But she will want to see you, her only son?’
‘Of course. But my mother has always spent most of her time at the hospital. She loves what she does. I think you and she will get along famously.’ The admiration in his eyes made her heart catch.
She wished he wouldn’t keep looking at her like that.
They discovered that the next train bound for Dumfries wasn’t scheduled for several hours and even then the station guard couldn’t promise them that it would arrive or depart then. ‘Priority is given to the troop trains, miss.’ He turned to Richard. ‘You’ll understand that, sir, being in the RAF yourself. And could I just say, sir, that we are all so grateful to you chaps. If it wasn’t for your lot we could all be speaking German by now.’
When Richard slid her a look and raised an eyebrow, she knew he was thinking of the conversation they’d had that night on the bridge. ‘Is there a car that can take us? Or that I can hire?’
The train guard tipped his hat back on his head and rubbed his chin. ‘The station master has one. He might be persuaded to let you have it for a couple of hours. We like to do what we can for our RAF boys.’
In the end, the station master agreed that they could take his car on condition they brought it back before he was due to go off duty at five. There was a train departing for Edinburgh mid afternoon and after a brief discussion Irena and Richard decided that they would return in time to get that train – if it was running.
‘Your brother is unlikely to have much time off. If he’s not in the air, he’ll be on standby. You do appreciate that?’ Richard said.
‘If I can get five minutes with him, it will make me happy. Even just to see him. It’s been more than a year…’
‘If he’s out on a shout, then we’ll wait for him,’ Richard said. ‘One way or another you are going to see him.’
Irena watched as there was an exchange of notes between Richard and the station master. It seemed that the station master wasn’t so patriotic that he would let them have the car for nothing.
‘I will pay you back,’ Irena promised as they set off down the narrow road in what she assumed was the right direction. All the road signs had been removed.
‘Certainly not,’ Richard replied. ‘I’m not exactly short of a bob or two.’
‘Nevertheless, I will. As soon as I can.’
Richard smiled and shook his head but said nothing.
‘You are sure we are going the right way?’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Don’t you think a pilot has to know where he is going? I’m just following the sun.’
They passed through Dumfries and out back into the country. Soon she’d be seeing Aleksy again, and although she’d longed for this moment, she dreaded having to tell him about Magdalena. As if Richard sensed what she was thinking, he reached for her hand and squeezed it.
‘I can see the control tower of the airbase,’ he said, pointing to a grey stone building in the distance. ‘We’re not far now.’
They were stopped at the perimeter fence while Richard showed his papers to the soldier on duty at the barrier.
The soldier looked her up and down. ‘Visitors are not allowed on the base, sir.’
Irena’s heart sank.
‘This lady is with me. Her brother, Pilot Officer Kraszewski, is one of the pilots here.’
‘In that case, sir, and as long as you will sign her in, you may proceed.’
There were dome-shaped huts spread across the camp. Outside them, men in flying suits sat in armchairs, smoking pipes and reading newspapers. To their left a number of planes, around thirty, Irena guessed, sat on the tarmac. Men in khaki boiler suits scurried around and over them like ants.
‘The engineers. Checking the planes,’ Richard explained.
He stopped the car in front of a group of men and asked for the Polish unit. A sergeant pointed towards the rear of the camp. ‘That’s their Nissan hut over there, sir. They should be hanging around dispersal.’
Richard started the car and they bumped their way along the last few yards until they came to a halt in front of a Nissan hut flying the Polish flag.
The sight made Irena want to cry. Here, at last, was proof that Poland was not completely beaten.
And then she saw him. He was walking towards them wearing a sheepskin-trimmed leather jacket over his uniform and carrying an oxygen mask in one hand.
‘Aleksy!’ She leaped out of the car before Richard had a chance to bring it to a complete stop.
‘Aleksy!’ she called again.
Her brother turned around and for a long moment they just stared at one another. Then she was running towards him, stumbling in her haste to reach him.
He dropped the mask and stepped towards her. ‘Irena!’
She was in his arms and he was whirling her around. She hadn’t known it was possible to laugh and cry at the same time.
‘Dearest sister!’ he said in Polish. ‘I was so worried. I didn’t know what had happened to you. The stories we hear…’
‘I am here! And I have found you.’
Aleksy placed her on the ground and gripped her shoulders. ‘Let me look at you.’ He studied her for a moment. ‘I can’t believe it! My darling Renia. Here. How did you get out? How is Tata? And Magdalena? Are they with you?’ He looked over her shoulder as if expecting them to materialise.
Then he noticed Richard, who had kept his distance, turning his back slightly to give them some privacy. ‘Hello,’ he said, reverting to English and holding out his hand. ‘A fellow pilot, I see.’
‘Oh, Aleksy, this is Flight Commander Richard Maxwell. His family have been so good to me. He’s taking me to stay with his mother. She’s arranged a place for me at the University of Edinburgh to continue my medical studies.’
The two men shook hands.
‘You chaps are doing a terrific job,’ Richard said. ‘I’m glad I finally have a chance to say so.’
‘We try,’ Aleksy responded with a smile of his own. ‘Thank you for taking care of my sister.’
There was an awkward silence for a moment. ‘I’ll just go and see the boys,’ Richard said. ‘There’s bound to be someone I know here.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘We only have an hour or so if we’re to make our train.’
‘I’ll be here,’ Irena replied. Only an hour to spend with her brother. In that case she had to make the most of it. She shrank inside knowing she had to tell him about Magdalena.
Aleksy took her by the arm and led her away from the group of men who had studiously returned to whatever they were doing. ‘How is Magdalena?’ Aleksy asked. ‘Have you seen her? Did she come with you? Is she all right? I’ve been so worried about her. I wrote her many times but she never replied.’
‘Aleksy… can we find somewhere private…’
He stared at her, the light leaving his eyes. ‘Just tell me.’
‘I have bad news, I’m afraid.’ She hesitated but there was no way to soften the blow. ‘Aleksy, Magdalena is dead.’
The colour drained from his face. ‘She can’t be.’
‘Oh, Aleksy, I’m so sorry. I know how much
you loved her. The Germans took their house from them and gave it to a family. I think Magdalena and her mother were trying to go to Colonel Ĺaski. They were taken by the Russians and put in a camp.’
When Aleksy continued to stare at her without saying anything, she continued. ‘She wrote to me. Her mother had died and I think she knew she didn’t have long either.’ She took the note from her bag and held it out. ‘This was enclosed with my letter. It’s for you.’
Aleksy made no move to take it from her. ‘I trusted you to look after her,’ he said dully.
Although he was only echoing what she’d thought so often, she recoiled from the censure in his voice. ‘I tried. But none of us even guessed what would happen. You can’t have any idea what it was like, what it is like, in Poland now.’
