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Kaziks Journey
Kazimierz
Zakrzewski-Rucinski
Born Radom, Poland 1909
Died London 1982
Education: Warsaw University, pre-war ;
Architectural School, Liverpool, post-war.
Affiliations: Polish Air Force ; Royal Air Force
From an observation balloon above Poland to a Wellington bomber
over the Netherlands, Kazik navigated - and documented the
world with his expertise gained working as a professional
illustrator before World War Two. An odyssey from his occupied
homeland began in 1940, when he travelled south through Eastern
Europe and into Syria via Greece and Turkey, across North
Africa and then caught a boat from Gibraltar to join with
a Royal Air Force crew in the UK. He was harboured by a Dutch
family after being shot down over Holland, until being discovered
and sent to the infamous Stalag Luft III in Upper Silesia.
He produced portraits of his fellow POWs, hauling these drawings
in a trolley during a long forced march across Occupied Europe
in 1945.
The
album traces his journeys using drawings, maps, photographs
and identity cards, captioned with a white Chinagraph pencil,
that marks track lines on laminated charts and pilots boards.The
drawing pad records portraits of and by his contemporaries,
one page covered in dedications from them, upon liberation.
After
the war, Kazik worked as an architect producing a modernist
proposal for a RAF Memorial Chapel at Biggin Hill when he
worked for Wylton Todd who Kazik had met in prison camp (the
memories on the record/disc). From the fifties until his death,
Kazik drew perspectives, which is very specialised, so didn't
design any more. He worked for TP Bennett and Son in Holborn
for many years and continued to live in England, until he
passed away in 1982.
Until
now, this work has never been shown in a gallery.
(Click
the images to enlarge)
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Memories
of Stalag Luft III record
Credited to Wylton Todd |
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Left:
F/LT Bob McBride, Canadian
Right: F/LT Peter Gardner, RAF |
Left:
F/O James Inglis
Right: F/LT Timothy Fenn |
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George
Buchanan (4th August 1944) |
Dedications
to Kazik
Do you recognise any of the names here? |
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Kazik
as a character in wartime |
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A
spread from a book that was produced after the war,
which mentions that Peter Butterworth (later of Carry
On film fame) was a leading member of the camp theatre
group.
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Kazik
had post-war letters from a Canadian PoW called Bob McBride
who appears in one of the paintings and was an accomplished
illustrator himself.
Barb
emailed in January 2010 to say:
Your site comment "Dedications to Kazik
Do you recognise any of the names here?
Yes, I recognize several names, my father knew the men at
Stalag Luft III. In fact the play "Messalina" is
mentioned in one note, and my father is pictured in the book
Wirebound World, when he played one of the characters in that
play.
Also, a good friend of Dad's, the Canadian artist Bob Buckham
wrote his name and address on that note. As an artist, Bob
Buckham did a sketch of my father at the camp which Dad has.
So if you look in the low centre you'll see Bob Buckham's
name. I can send you a link to Bob's art now on display in
the Canadian War Archives Ottawa as well as some of his collection
online. I also recognize (I think) it might be John Dowler's
name who as far as I know went on to be an actor in England?
Another signee mentions the play "Messalina" which
was a musical written at the camp by David Porter and Wylton
Todd (I can look it up, I think Todd did the music) if you
need that confirmed. In those plays the "women"
were played by men like John Dowler who did a great job and
they all had great fun doing those plays and it was great
entertainment for the boys.
For now that will send you in the right direction as far as
some of those names from Stalag Luft III. I can ask my Dad
if he recognizes any of the other names.
But I also noticed a water colour portrait of Bob McBride
who my father knew. Those water colour portraits and the rest
of the artwork are wonderful.
Was Kazik at Stalag Lust 3 as well?
I enjoyed the portraits, amazing, what talent. I especially
liked 'the journey' the large travel 'map' of one of their
lives in that war.
All best,
Barb
Canada
Please be aware that information and images on
this page are © Helena Zakrzewska-Rucinska and provided
courtesy of Garry Hunter, Artist/Curator, Fitzrovia Noir. Please
do not reproduce or download any information or images without
first seeking permission from Helena or Garry via this site.
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