On May 25, Edmund Semrau, one of the last soldiers of the 1st Polish Armored Division of General Stanisław Maczek passed away.

On May 25, Edmund Semrau, one of the last soldiers of the 1st Polish Armored Division of General Stanisław Maczek passed away.

Capt. Edmund Semrau was born on January 21, 1926, in Chełmno. In September 1939 he and his family were evacuated to the eastern borderlands of Poland, later after 17 September, he was deported to Siberia with his family.

Thanks to the Sikorski - Majski agreement taken over in July 1941, after long wandering, he came with many soldiers of General Anders to the British Isles to Scotland. As soon as he reached the age of majority in 1943, he volunteered to serve in the 1st Polish Armored Division created by General Maczek. He received specialized training at the Armored Weapons Training Center in Catterick. After receiving the assignment to the 2nd Squadron of the 1st Armored Regiment, he went through his entire battle trail from the fields of Normandy, through France, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the winning final in Germany.

In August 1944 he took part in a landing in Normandy, later in the Battle of Falaise, and then in the capture of Breda in the Netherlands. Then his unit was part of the occupation forces in Germany. Semrau returned to Poland in 1948 for family reasons. From 1995, he was active in the "Toruń" Peasant Circle of former soldiers of the 1st Armored Division.

Photo Credit: e-chelmno.pl, ismr.pl
via: Federacja Organizacji Polskich Pancerniaków


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