Stanisław Szostak Stanisław Szostak ( 14 January 1898 – 11 February 1961 ) was a colonel of the Polish Armoured Corps . He was born in Berazino , today ' s Belarus , the son of Władysław and Maria Nieciejowska of Hrynica . He was injured in a car accident and died in 1961 . He is buried at Brompton Cemetery in London . The Second Republic . In 1917 , having graduated with distinction ( Gold Medal ) , Stanisław Szostak was enrolled as an officer cadet ( junker ) in the Nikolayevskoye School of Engineers in Petrograd , Russia . Following the unsuccessful counter - revolutionary Junker mutiny of 29 October 1917 he was imprisoned in the Fortress of Peter and Paul in Petrograd . On 18 December 1917 , after his release was negotiated by the Polish Military Committee in Petrograd , Stanisław Szostak joined the Junkers company of the 1st Knights Legion of the 1st Polish Corps . Later , he served with the Officer Cadet Legion within the 1st Corps until 6 June 1918 . At the beginning of his tour of service , in January 1918 he took part in the capture of the Bobrujsk fortress occupied by the Bolshevik forces . After the dissolution of the 1st Corps was admitted to study at the Politechnika Warzawska . He , nonetheless , chose to interrupt the studies on 18 December 1918 , volunteering to serve with the Bialystok Rifle Regiment of the 1st Lithuanian - Belorusian Division commanded by General Jan Rzadkowski – first as a private he commanding a section , subsequently as a corporal in charge of a platoon . During the Polish - Soviet war of 1919 – 21 he fought on the Lithuanian - Belarusian Front in the regimental technical support company and remained with the regiment until 20 May 1920 . From 25 May to 18 August 1920 he was an officer cadet at Infantry Officers School in Warsaw . After completing the course he was assigned to serve with the reserve battalion of the 56 Wielkopolski Infantry Regiment as a platoon commander . On 15 December 1920 Stanislaw Szostak was promoted to the rank of a second lieutenant . On 3 May 1922 he was verified as a lieutenant with seniority from 1 June 1919 in the corps of Infantry Officers . In June of that year he was appointed to be the adjutant of the Second Battalion of 56th Wielkopolski Infantry Regiment . Early in 1924 Lt Szostak joined the Central Tank School of the 1st Tank Regiment equipped with Renault FT - 17 tanks , and from August 1925 he commanded a platoon of the 7th Tank Company . From 1928 to 1931 he commanded 6th , 7th , and then 4th company of tanks . On 19 March 1928 he was promoted to the rank of a captain ( seniority from 1 January 1928 ) . From June 1931 to April 1938 he took up training responsibilities . First , from June 1931 to April 1934 he lectured at the Training Centre of Tanks and Armoured Cars in Warsaw . Then , in the years 1935 to 1938 he was the head of the Training Department at the headquarters of the Armoured Corps attached to the Ministry of Military Affairs in Warsaw . On 19 March 1937 he was promoted to the rank of major in the Corps of armoured Officers . From April 1938 Major Szostak was a deputy commander of the 7th Armoured Battalion in Grodno . Shortly before the invasion of Poland by Germany , in August 1939 Major Szostak became the commander of the mobilised 32nd Reconnaissance Armoured Unit consisting of 3 squadrons with 13 TKS tankettes and 8 type 34 - II armoured cars took part in the battles of Grajewo and Szczuczyn . The unit covered the withdrawal of the Podlaska Cavalry Brigade . On 12 September he took part in the battle for Kita . By 16 September he lost all his armour but fought the invading Soviets in Grodno and organised defence of the town of Giby . On 24 September , with the reminder of his men Major Szostak crossed the Lithuanian border and was interned . Until July 1940 he was in the internment camps of Calvary , Kurszany and Fort V in Kaunas . After the invasion of Lithuania by the Soviet Union he was transferred to Kozielsk II , and later to the camp in Griazowiec . He was released pursuant to the signature to the Sikorski - majski Pact of 30 July , and on 25 August he joined the Polish Army that was being organised in the Soviet Union . The Polish Armed Forces . On 7 September 1941 Major Szostak was appointed to be a commanding officer of the 5th Tank Battalion of the 5th Wilno Infantry Division . He was given the command of the Polish Armoured Forces in the Soviet Union on 20 September and remained in this post until the evacuation to Iran on 28 March 1942 . Until 23 January 1942 Major Szostak was also in charge of the Army Transport Service . From 3 April to 14 May he was in charge of the Armoured Forces and Transport Service on the staff of gen . Boruta Spiechowicz ( troops evacuated to Iran . ) On 15 May he moved from Teheran to Palestine , and on 1 June , arrived at the Polish Army camp in Gedera . Here he became a deputy commander of a tank battalion at the Organisation Centre of the Tank Forces of the Polish Army in the Middle East . In August he commanded the 4th tank Battalion . From November 1942 Major Szostak was put in charge of the Tank Training Centre and then Training Centre for Transport and Armoured Units . He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel from 3 May 1943 . From April 1944 he commanded the Reserve Armoured Troops Centre of the 2nd Polish Corps . Colonel Zebrowski on page 491 of his monograph writes : From 15 September 1944 Lt Col . Szostak commanded 7th Armoured Regiment . From January 1945 to January 1946 he was commander of the Armoured Forces Training Centre , then the Inspector of Motor Transport Training of the Base of the 2nd Corps . In Summer of 1946 he came to Britain . In May 1947 he joined the Polish Resettlement Corps . During the two - year contract he was in command of Foxley I , and then Barons Cross camp near Leominster . After his release from the army , he settled with his family in London . In 1954 he remained faithful to President Zaleski , of the Polish government - in - exile . He was a member of the Polish Combatants Association , and Circle No 120 ( 2nd Corps Headquarters ) . Decorations . Polish : British : French :