A VETERAN of the Battle of Arnhem who also survived banishment to Siberia has been honoured by town councillors in Barnoldswick.

Seventy years have elapsed and Polish-born Stanislaw Bajkowski is thought to be one of the last surviving soldiers in West Craven from the conflict.

The 89-year-old witnessed his brother perish, en-route from Siberia to Krasnowodsk, and his mother succumb to typhoid after the family arrived in Tehran.

Later he enlisted in the 1st Independent Polish Brigade with his father and was parachuted into Arnhem.

He survived the ‘Bridge Too Far’ battlefield, though many of his comrades were killed, and he later served in post-war Germany. After demob, he relocated to Barnoldswick and initially stayed at the Welfare Centre, now the Rolls-Royce Leisure Centre.

His first wife, Jean Scott, with whom he had three chiildren, died at the age of 34 but he later remarried and still lives in Edmonson Street with his second wife Stella.

When he first learned that Barnoldswick Town Council wanted to present him with a certificate of appreciation, the great-grandfather could not quite believe it.

Stanislaw, who worked at a number of textile mills before his retirement from Bellwoven in Colne, said: “I was taken aback a bit – I was quite surprised.”

Coun Claire Teall, town council chairman, added: “It’s an honour and privilege to present Mr Bajkowski with this certificate in recognition of his heroism in fighting for our country.

“It is humbling to listen to his story – he is a very fine man.”

Stanislaw, an honorary lieutenant in the Polish Army who was decorated for his service at Arnhem, had previously attended the 60th anniversary commemorations for the battle in the Netherlands.