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£949.99
Silver, Egypt/Palestine, 1942 , 49mm x 46mm
In stock
Polish breast badge of the Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade, the so-called “Tobruk” badge. Made circa 1942. Issue example, numbered on the reverse 3703, issued to second lieutenant Szatkowski Zygmunt.
Zygmunt Lechosław Szadkowski (born January 5, 1912, in Warsaw, died September 5, 1995, in London) was a Polish émigré politician, officer of the Polish Army, and a scouting and social activist.
Zygmunt Lechosław Szadkowski was born on January 5, 1912, in Warsaw, the son of Zygmunt Szadkowski and Maria Kozłowska. At the age of two, he moved with his family to Tołoczyn in the Vitebsk region, and that same year he lost his father. After completing the Adam Mickiewicz Gymnasium in Nowogródek, he began studies at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences of Stefan Batory University in Wilno. In 1936, he married Wanda Malinowska (who passed away in 1999). He obtained a degree in geography in 1938. After additional studies at the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, he entered the diplomatic service and was sent to the Polish Consulate in Daugavpils.
After the outbreak of World War II, he and his wife traveled through Sweden and the United Kingdom to France. There, he joined the Polish Army and, as a government emissary, was sent to Romania, where he organized underground structures in territories incorporated into the Soviet Union. In Romania, he created a smuggling route from Bucharest to the Middle East.
After the fall of France, he went to the Middle East, where he joined the newly formed Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade. As an active member of the Polish Scouting Association, he co-organized scouting activities in the units and Polish communities in Palestine. He took part in the defense of Tobruk and the Battle of Gazala with the 3rd Battalion of the Carpathian Rifle Brigade. In 1942, he was sent to the Infantry Cadet School and, after completing the course, became its instructor while continuing to participate in scouting organizations. On December 1, 1943, he was appointed head of the Independent Scouting Section of the Middle East Command. In October 1944, he became the Commander of the Polish Scouting Association in the East. He followed the combat path of the 2nd Corps, fighting in North Africa and Italy. He ended his military service with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
After the war, he initially stayed in Italy and Palestine before moving to the United Kingdom and settling in London. He worked as a baker, factory worker, and tailor’s assistant. In exile, he actively participated in the work of the Association of Polish Veterans in the UK and many other émigré committees and organizations. On December 1, 1957, he was elected a member of the Board of the Polish Association in Great Britain. From 1960 to 1967, he was the Chairman of the Polish Scouting Association outside Poland. He published in émigré journals and appeared on Radio Free Europe. He was also involved in émigré politics, serving as a member of the presidium of the National Council of the Republic of Poland and its last chairman before it was dissolved in December 1991, as well as a minister in two governments-in-exile: of social affairs in the second government of Alfred Urbański and of the treasury in the first government of Kazimierz Sabbat. From February 21, 1986, he was a member of the Main Commission of the National Treasury. He was also the president of the Association of Polish Veterans in Great Britain. In 1990, he negotiated the terms for the transfer of presidential insignia to Poland.
In 1992, he became a member of the Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites. He died in London on September 5, 1995, and was buried in Żbikowski Cemetery in Pruszków.
On November 10, 2012, Zygmunt Szadkowski and his wife Wanda were reinterred in the Pantheon of the Great Poles in the Temple of Divine Providence.
The badge is in the form of an eagle wearing a crown with spread wings, sitting on a pedestal with the inscription “Tobruk”, the initials SBSK (Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade), two British bayonets with blades up and a crescent at the very bottom.
Smooth reverse with a threaded post and an incorrect spinner nut (F.M Lorioli). Numbered “3703” and hallmarked “800” for 800 Silver standard.
This version of the badge was mentioned by Tony Leszczuk and Krzysztof Barbarski in the book “The Polish Army in the West 1939-47, Commemorative and Specialist Badges, 2020”, item 12a, page 9.