Jan Sigmund

"It was interesting because as far as I can remember we had never discussed the things we did. We considered it to be our duty and that was it. In 1941 or 1942, when I enrolled in the army, we all thought that the war would only last for a year or so. But it lasted much longer. There was no doubt about winning the war. What we didn’t know, however, was who’d survive it and how long it would take. So except for that, we knew everything.”

“Well, it’s quite easy. In English schools you have so-called “kadetky” (cadet school) where you have military pre-training. So I was well acquainted with the normal military discipline like handling a rifle etc. But then, when I turned 18 I was called upon to join the Czechoslovak army in Britain. So I joined it and stayed there for about nine months and then I went to the Czechoslovak Air Force which was a part of the Royal Air Force. It was the 312th Czechoslovak air squadron. We also had the 310th and the 313th Czechoslovak air squadrons, so together we had – as the English used to say – one wing, which is like a regiment, an air force regiment. Three units – each had 36 Spitfire fighter planes.”

“Spitfire was an excellent fighter plane and made a long career. The Germans came with their own fighter, the ‘Focks’, the 190. It was faster then the Spitfire. After it came out the English reacted by upgrading the Spitfire, building in a better engine, and so the Spitfire gained the upper hand on the German planes again. It was very complicated to reach some of the parts of the plane. But maintenance and the like were easy. We had a great cooperation routine with Rolls Royce, who produced the plane. They worked very hard for the Air Force and quickly fixed all the defects of the plane. So we didn’t have any problems with the plane and the engines were very good.”

“Then followed the Communist coup. I was just on my way back to Britain. I think that as a former soldier from Britain they must have known that I’d only mean trouble for them so they just let me go. I didn’t have any problems obtaining a visa and got back to Britain smoothly.”

“Look I served first with the infantry of the Czechoslovak army and it was very interesting there. It was the first real military training. It was easy for me because I was used to the drill from school where I did the pre-training since I was sixteen but for some novices it was hard because they started from scratch – they had to learn everything from the beginning. The 312th squadron was ours – it was a very interesting unit because there was no bullying at all in this unit. Everybody had his task and it was very different fro the usual military training, especially in peace time. It was very good.”

“It really depended on where we were. Sometimes we were in a back-water place and there really was no chance of getting somewhere. At least, however, there were the local pubs and we usually quickly found them when we were transferred to a new base. The English were very favorable to us, so to speak. We had to wear these badges saying “Czechoslovakia” but besides that we were subject to British laws completely. In this respect we were in the same position as the British. I don’t know whether our people realized this but our general signed a treaty and I think that it was the right thing. We weren’t allowed to work outside of the army and had to do what the English did. The English are a very interesting nation, you know? I’d say they’re kind of hidden patriots but as far as foreigners are concerned, they were always very kind to us. It often happened to me when I walked somewhere in an obscure little town that somebody would come to me invite me to his place for tee. So that’s how we got to know them. They know how to behave to people and to foreigners; they have a lot of experience in this.”

“Well, every time when someone didn’t return from the mission, it was up to his friends and colleges to pack his things. They were later given to the person’s family. It must have been very sad for the families to learn that their son died somewhere over the English Channel and that he even doesn’t have a proper grave – although he has a grave somewhere in England. It’s a sad thing.”

“The relationship with our officers was probably different then the relationship of the English to their officers. We knew all our pilots by their first names and they knew us. They knew that their lives depended on the how well we take care of their engines. So the relationship was good.”