Antonín Ladislav Hruška

* 1915

Veteran of WW2, western front, French Foreign Legion, Emigrant, Royal Air Force, A 1948 – 1989 emigrant/refugee
15. 3. 1939 - The Nazi occupation of ČSR, 1. 9. 1939 - The outbreak of the WW2, 1944 - 1945 - The liberation of Czechoslovakia
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    Journey to the Czechoslovakian air force

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    "I left to Poland. Back then we had to enter the foreign league in the North coast of Africa. We had signed a contract saying that if a war started, we would be able to leave the league. So I went to France where I became the commander of the 12th machine-gun troop. We had twelve machine guns, three mine throwers and four antitank cannons. Because my regiment didn’t go to the front, I felt very patriot and thought to myself, "I have to go and fight." What I didn’t know was, that I was fighting mainly for the traitors and collaborators involved with the communist regime. Somehow I made it to England. There I applied for the Czechoslovakian Air force troop."

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    Evacuation via Bay of Biscay

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    "We have received an order to go to some port in South France. I can’t remember the name of it. And because I was the commander of the troop I said: ´Boys, we’ll take the machine gun along.´ on our way over the Bay of Biscay we could use it against German planes if we needed to. We just like to pretend we were real soldiers. I don’t remember how many bullets we had, but we had a machine gun that could shoot down just anything."

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    Serving the RAF

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    "As a member of the 311th bombing wing I was flown to Germany like the others. Later, we went also to Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay. After that I was sent to the Specialists navigation course in Canada, which I successfully underwent and then became eligible to write a capital N behind my name. N - for a navigator."

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    Return to England

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    "When the war was over I came back to Czechoslovakia for few weeks. The situation here wasn’t really good though. We have been chased by the Czechs in the name of the Germans. Czech Germans thus. So I have saved myself by going back to England, because our fellow France was not interested in us. Only England offered the hospitality. So once again I entered the RAF where I remained in Transport command until 1970. And I’m retired ever since."

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    Navigating officer

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    "My position in the army was the commanding officer of the machine gun troop. When I entered the Air force troop I had to fly as a shooter at the beginning. After some time I asked the commander if I could fly as a navigating officer. Nonsense, he told me. He said I was the shooter. So I told him: ´I have studied the navigation and now I’m as good as your boys at it.´ I have read the book of Françoise Chichester (with a dictionary in my hands), which was the man who sailed around the globe. I have learnt everything and now I was ready to fly as a navigating officer. I didn’t have any special class for that though, until the Specialists navigation course in Canada."

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    Praha, 05.06.2003

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When the war was over I returned back to Czechoslovakia, but the situation there was not any better so I went back to England

ALH
ALH

Mr. Antonín Ladislav Hruška was born: June 23rd 1915 in Janovice village in the Nový Jičín region of the Czech Republic. His father worked as a carpenter and his mother was a home maker. As a child he became seriously ill but survived. He graduated from Gymnasium and then enlisted in the Military Academy. After the occupation of Czechoslovakia he ran away to Poland. He entered the foreign league troops and served in the North Africa. After being discharged, he left to Agde, France where he became a commander of the newly established 12th machine, a gun troop of the Czechoslovak unit. He never participated in any battle in France. After the French capitulation he was evacuated to England where he joined the RAF where he served as a shooter and later as a navigating officer of the 311th Czechoslovakian bombing wing. After the war he returned to Czechoslovakia, left the army and worked for the ČSA (The Czech airlines). However, he eventually decided to go back to England where he returned to RAF and remained there until his retirement.

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