Rear AdmiralJózef Czeslaw Bartosik, CB,DSC (20 July 1917 – 14 January 2008) was a Polish Naval officer who served in Polish destroyers under British naval command during the Second World War. Shortly after the war, he joined the British Royal Navy and advanced to the rank of rear admiral, before his retirement in 1968. He died in England at age 90.
In 1935, at the age of 18, Bartosik joined the naval officer cadet school in Toruń.[1] He graduated in 1938 and in 1939 he was the first watch officer in the cadet schooner ORP Iskra. During the latter half of 1939, he led the wooden sailing ship on a voyage through the Mediterranean and into Southern Atlantic waters. On learning of the 1939 invasion of Poland by Nazi German forces, Iskra returned from the Atlantic and left two crew members with the ship in Morocco. Along with the rest of Iskra's crew, Bartosik boarded a French ship and departed for France, where after deliberations between the French Navy's War Department and free Polish forces, he reported as a member of the reserve officer group at the ship-base ORP Gdynia in the United Kingdom.
In 1940, Bartosik served as a watch keeping officer and deputy gunnery officer aboard the destroyer ORP Błyskawica. During this time, he was instrumental in Błyskawica's downing of two Luftwaffe aircraft during the Norwegian campaign.[2] He was also in the first crew of the destroyer ORP Garland, where he was a watch keeping officer. After promotion to first lieutenant in 1941 he took over responsibilities of the gunnery officer. In Garland, he participated in action in the Mediterranean and the raid on Spitsbergen involving the evacuation of the Norwegian Royal family; as well as serving in convoys in the Arctic, Atlantic, near Iceland and the Mediterranean. In 1942 he became flag lieutenant to the chief operating officer of the navy. In 1943 he served aboard Błyskawica as the gunnery officer and participated in Operation Neptune. In 1944 he was promoted captain and returned to the department of the navy. In 1945 he became the gunnery officer of the Polish cruiser ORP Conrad. Bartosik helped to carry Red Cross supplies to Norway and Denmark before Conrad was returned to the Royal Navy in September 1946. For his actions he was awarded a Virtuti Militari, a Cross of Valour and a British Distinguished Service Cross (DSC).[2]
Post-war service in the Royal Navyedit
In 1948 Bartosik was one of only three Polish officers to be accepted into the Royal Navy out of several hundred who volunteered.[3] It meant relinquishing his wartime rank of lieutenant commander, and he was appointed to the battleship HMS Anson as a lieutenant with seniority from July 1941. His draft to Anson was nearly rescinded when her captain noticed that Bartosik dared to sport his Polish Virtuti Militari ahead of his British DSC. He was dispatched to serve on escort vessels. From 1955 to 1958 he was the commander of the frigate HMS Comus. From September 1959 he led the 5th Frigate Squadron from HMS Scarborough. From 1962 to 1963 he was commander of Royal Naval Air Station RNAS Culdrose. From 1964 to 1965, he commanded the guided missile destroyer HMS London, and from 1966 to 1968 he was Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Operations), with the rank of rear admiral. He retired from the Royal Navy in August 1968.[4]
During his time in command of London, Bartosik was involved in a notorious incident. Having sacked his second-in-command in the newly commissioned guided-missile destroyer London in late 1965, he was sent the strong character Mike Henry as a replacement. When London arrived in Singapore for maintenance work Bartosik, for unspecified reasons, had him placed under arrest in his cabin. Henry endured this treatment, but the Fleet chaplain had to intervene with the Captain of the Fleet to obtain his release. Later Bartosik is alleged to have written to Rear Admiral Horace Law, then Flag Officer Submarines, saying that he considered Henry unsuitable for an important submarine appointment "understood to be impending". Law’s reply is said to have been one of the few occasions when Bartosik’s legendary malevolence was checked.[5]
Authoredit
Bartosik was the author of the book Faithful Ship(in Polish) published in 1947, by Orbis of London.
^"Captain Mike Henry Obituaries". London: Telegraph Obituaries. 28 December 2008. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
April 10, 2024
józef, bartosik, rear, admiral, józef, czeslaw, bartosik, july, 1917, january, 2008, polish, naval, officer, served, polish, destroyers, under, british, naval, command, during, second, world, shortly, after, joined, british, royal, navy, advanced, rank, rear, . Rear Admiral Jozef Czeslaw Bartosik CB DSC 20 July 1917 14 January 2008 was a Polish Naval officer who served in Polish destroyers under British naval command during the Second World War Shortly after the war he joined the British Royal Navy and advanced to the rank of rear admiral before his retirement in 1968 He died in England at age 90 Jozef BartosikBorn 1917 07 20 20 July 1917Topola Wielka PolandDied14 January 2008 2008 01 14 aged 90 Moreton in Marsh Hospital Gloucestershire EnglandAllegiancePoland 1935 48 United Kingdom 1948 68 Service wbr branchPolish NavyRoyal NavyYears of service1935 1968RankRear AdmiralCommands heldHMS London 1963 66 RNAS Culdrose 1961 63 5th Frigate Squadron 1959 60 HMS Comus 1955 56 Battles warsSecond World WarAwardsVirtuti Militari Cross of Valour Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Cross Letter of CongratulationContents 1 Wartime service in the Polish Navy 2 Post war service in the Royal Navy 3 Author 4 Honours and awards 5 ReferencesWartime service in the Polish Navy editIn 1935 at the age of 18 Bartosik joined the naval officer cadet school in Torun 1 He graduated in 1938 and in 1939 he was the first watch officer in the cadet schooner ORP Iskra During the latter half of 1939 he led the wooden sailing ship on a voyage through the Mediterranean and into Southern Atlantic waters On learning of the 1939 invasion of Poland by Nazi German forces Iskra returned from the Atlantic and left two crew members with the ship in Morocco Along with the rest of Iskra s crew Bartosik boarded a French ship and departed for France where after deliberations between the French Navy s War Department and free Polish forces he reported as a member of the reserve officer group at the ship base ORP Gdynia in the United Kingdom In 1940 Bartosik served as a watch keeping officer and deputy gunnery officer aboard the destroyer ORP Blyskawica During this time he was instrumental in Blyskawica s downing of two Luftwaffe aircraft during the Norwegian campaign 2 He was also in the first crew of the destroyer ORP Garland where he was a watch keeping officer After promotion to first lieutenant in 1941 he took over responsibilities of the gunnery officer In Garland he participated in action in the Mediterranean and the raid on Spitsbergen involving the evacuation of the Norwegian Royal family as well as serving in convoys in the Arctic Atlantic near Iceland and the Mediterranean In 1942 he became flag lieutenant to the chief operating officer of the navy In 1943 he served aboard Blyskawica as the gunnery officer and participated in Operation Neptune In 1944 he was promoted captain and returned to the department of the navy In 1945 he became the gunnery officer of the Polish cruiser ORP Conrad Bartosik helped to carry Red Cross supplies to Norway and Denmark before Conrad was returned to the Royal Navy in September 1946 For his actions he was awarded a Virtuti Militari a Cross of Valour and a British Distinguished Service Cross DSC 2 Post war service in the Royal Navy editIn 1948 Bartosik was one of only three Polish officers to be accepted into the Royal Navy out of several hundred who volunteered 3 It meant relinquishing his wartime rank of lieutenant commander and he was appointed to the battleship HMS Anson as a lieutenant with seniority from July 1941 His draft to Anson was nearly rescinded when her captain noticed that Bartosik dared to sport his Polish Virtuti Militari ahead of his British DSC He was dispatched to serve on escort vessels From 1955 to 1958 he was the commander of the frigate HMS Comus From September 1959 he led the 5th Frigate Squadron from HMS Scarborough From 1962 to 1963 he was commander of Royal Naval Air Station RNAS Culdrose From 1964 to 1965 he commanded the guided missile destroyer HMS London and from 1966 to 1968 he was Assistant Chief of Naval Staff Operations with the rank of rear admiral He retired from the Royal Navy in August 1968 4 During his time in command of London Bartosik was involved in a notorious incident Having sacked his second in command in the newly commissioned guided missile destroyer London in late 1965 he was sent the strong character Mike Henry as a replacement When London arrived in Singapore for maintenance work Bartosik for unspecified reasons had him placed under arrest in his cabin Henry endured this treatment but the Fleet chaplain had to intervene with the Captain of the Fleet to obtain his release Later Bartosik is alleged to have written to Rear Admiral Horace Law then Flag Officer Submarines saying that he considered Henry unsuitable for an important submarine appointment understood to be impending Law s reply is said to have been one of the few occasions when Bartosik s legendary malevolence was checked 5 Author editBartosik was the author of the book Faithful Ship in Polish published in 1947 by Orbis of London Honours and awards editSilver Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari Cross of Valour Marine Medal three times Companion of the Order of the Bath UK Distinguished Service Cross UK 1939 1945 Star UK Africa Star UK Atlantic Star UK France and Germany Star UK War Medal 1939 1945 UK References edit Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives King s College London Retrieved 30 December 2008 a b Rear Admiral Joe Bartosik obituaries London Telegraph 16 January 2008 Retrieved 30 December 2008 Rear Admiral Joe Bartosik The Times London 22 January 2008 Retrieved 30 December 2008 No 44661 The London Gazette Supplement 27 August 1968 p 9347 Captain Mike Henry Obituaries London Telegraph Obituaries 28 December 2008 Retrieved 28 December 2008 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jozef Bartosik amp oldid 1205559860, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
