Service at Netherfield war memorial will remember Stanislaw Jozefiak

The annual service to remember the crew of a World War II bomber which crashed in Netherfield will take place at the village war memorial on May 28.
By The Newsroom
Published 18th May 2016, 12:58 BST
Updated 18th May 2016, 14:00 BST

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Polish War Memorial, Darwell Hill, Netherfield. 22.05.11. Picture by: TONY COOMBES PHOTOGRAPHY Jozefiak Stanislaw SUS-140515-115421001Polish War Memorial, Darwell Hill, Netherfield. 22.05.11. Picture by: TONY COOMBES PHOTOGRAPHY Jozefiak Stanislaw SUS-140515-115421001
Polish War Memorial, Darwell Hill, Netherfield. 22.05.11. Picture by: TONY COOMBES PHOTOGRAPHY Jozefiak Stanislaw SUS-140515-115421001

On the night of May 28/29 1941, RAF Wellington bombers from 304 Squadron – mainly Polish crews –were tasked with bombing the French channel port of Boulogne to disrupt the Germans’ invasion barges being assembled there.

One was hit by flak and an engine set on fire.

The aircraft limped back to England on one engine, but shortly after crossing the Sussex coast, the remaining engine began misfiring and the crew started to bale out.

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Two made it out but the Wellington crashed into the rising ground near Netherfield, at Darwell Hole.

One crew member, Stanislaw Jozefiak, returned to the site regularly and in 2001 constructed a brick memorial to his comrades.

Stanislaw passed away in December 2015, aged 96.

A plaque will be unveiled in his memory at the memorial by Doctors Farm Cottage at 3pm.

The event will be attended by members of the Royal British Legion, standard bearers, members of the Polish community, Robertsbridge Air Cadets and members of the Polish Historic Monuments Group.

The event will be followed by tea in the church.

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