Spangles belonging to Polish soldier Pawel Sornek, whose large set we sold in our 27th auction (Item 1677).
On the ribbon: the Cross of Valor, the Monte Cassino Cross, the Star for the 1939-1945 War and the Star of Italy.
On one of the spangles, engraved on the reverse: "Pawel Sornek Tychy."
Below is the text of his biography, taken from the book "Silesia to the Memory of Monte Cassino," edited by Witold Zhdanovich:
"Pawel Sornek (a.k.a. Malinowski), son of Franciszek and Jadwiga née Seweryn, was born on March 24, 1922 in Paprocany (now a district of Tychy). He lived there until 1942. His father was a miner, a participant in three Silesian uprisings; he died the death of a miner in the "Wieczorek" mine in Janów.
In June 1942, he was mobilized into the Wehrmacht and, after fourteen months of training, was sent to Africa with an assignment to the Afrika Korps. In April 1943, he defected to the English. In a prisoner of war camp in Ismailia, Egypt, he volunteered for the Polish Army. He was accepted on June 5, 1943 and assigned to the 4th Company of the 4th Battalion of the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division. In Italy, from February to April 1944, he took part in the fighting over the Sangro River, and then in May 1944 in the Battle of Monte Cassino. He fought on Hill 593 on May 17 and 18 as a soldier of Lieutenant Jędrzejewski's patrol. He was wounded. After returning from the hospital, he took part in the battles for Ancona (or at Castelfidardo and at Osimo). In September 1944, he was sent to the Infantry Cadet School in Matera. After graduating in January 1945, he returned to the battalion with the rank of senior cadet rifleman and participated in the capture of Bologna - in the battles of the Senio and Santerno rivers. After the end of hostilities, he was sent to the Administrative and Commercial High School of the 2nd Polish Army Corps in Casarano.
He held Polish decorations: the Monte Cassino Commemorative Cross (No. 9173), the Cross of Valor (No. 2179), the Badge for Wounds, the Army Medal, and British decorations: the 1939-1945 Star, the War Medal 1939-1945, and the Italy Star. After the war, he received the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta and the Silver and Gold Cross of Merit.
He returned to Poland from England in June 1947.
He was married to Helena (née Krzyzowska), born in 1924. He had two children and one grandchild. He was an economics technician by profession with a high school education. Until his retirement in 1982, he worked as a chief specialist at the "Chemiplast" company in Gliwice.
He died in 1991. He is buried in Zabrze."
Dimensions: 14.0 x 1.0 and 13.5 x 1.0 cm.
