Verbatim

Edward Oleszkiewicz
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Towards the end of the Second World War Edward Oleszkiewicz piloted Lancaster bombers out of Britain. Later when he migrated to Australia he had some interesting encounters with Australian officials who attempted to expel him to East Germany, even though he had fought for the Allies.

In 1943, at the age of 21, he was recruited into the Polish Air Force and trained in Britain as a bomber pilot. Edward's missions flew over Hamburg and Bremen, cities that were already destroyed. By 1944 he claims they were needlessly dropping surplus bombs.

After the war he was given 10 minutes to decide whether to emigrate to Australia. He took his chances here and worked for the Hydro Electric Scheme in Tasmania. However when the authorities would not allow him to socialise with guests at his work camp he and his workmates quit. This led to the threat by the Department of Immigration to send them back to East Germany. After they proved that they had fought for the Allies they were allowed to stay, and Edward went to work at Woomera Rocket Range.

He spent most of his life in Opossum Bay, Tasmania, where he used his skills in building and electronics to make a living. There, under the shadow of Mt Wellington, he was also able to pursue his passion for landscape painting.

Story Researcher and Producer

Phillip Briant