On Friday afternoon, September 20, 2024, relatives of Syktus Maria Lewkowicz visited the crash site in Hollands Kroon. Following this visit, Mark Hakvoort of the Hollands Kroon Memorial Poles Foundation wrote this report. Our thanks also for the beautiful photos we received, with which Syktus becomes more than just a fallen Polish airman.
Jazz musician and leading aircraftman Syktus Lewkowicz
On Friday afternoon, September 20, 2024, there were English-Polish relatives in the municipality of Hollands Kroon, Nick and Sally Lewkowicz. The plane of Nick’s uncle Sykstus (Marys) Lewkowicz had crashed just behind the farm of the Vosbergen family at Molenweg 38 Slootdorp. There are now apple trees at the site of the plane crash.
In the verge of Molenweg 38 is the memorial post for the six deceased crew members of the Wellington bomber Z1467 GR-L. A moment of remembrance was held for the deceased uncle Sykstus Lewkowicz. The SHHK foundation had provided the Polish national flag and the English Union Jack and the Vosbergen family provided flowers.
Sykstus was co-pilot (2nd pilot) of the Wellington bomber. Normally, at 30, he would have been too old for Bomber Command, but probably because he already had a pilot’s license, operational flying was allowed. In August 1934, he completed his flight training in Poland and obtained his pilot’s license. In the same period, he was a member of a jazz band.
After the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, Sykstus fled Poland with his two younger brothers Janusz and Antoni via France to England. All three of them went into military service. The middle Janusz was Nick’s father, flew a P-51 Mustang of the RAF. The youngest brother Antoni was in the Polish-English army and had fought in the battle of Monte Casino in Italy in 1944, among other things.
Janusz (Nick’s father) obtained English citizenship after the war and married an English woman. He had four sons, of whom Nick is the youngest. Nick and Sally themselves have three sons.
In the early 1960s, Janusz, Nick’s father, came to the Netherlands with his family (his mother and four sons). To visit the grave of his brother Sykstus Lewkowicz. There is a cemetery in Huisduinen near Den Helder. When he arrived there with his family, he could not find Sykstus’ grave. After asking around, it turned out that all war graves, including Sykstus’ grave in 1948, had been transferred by the Dutch government in collaboration with the English government to the Allied cemetery near Bergen op Zoom. Nick’s father had not been informed about this and was now looking for nothing 200 km away.
Jurgen from local TV channel RTV-NH was also present and interviewed Nick. Nick talked about his family in Poland, whom they visited during the Cold War and in the early 1990s. Afterwards, tea, coffee and apple pie were served at the Vosbergen family. Several photos were exchanged including photos of the Lewkowicz family in the 1930s, Sykstus during his flight training, birth photo and the jazz band.
Nick informed his three older brothers about the crash site.
