Here is a portrait of the distinguished birthday celebrant:
Marian Słowiński
He was born on 8 May 1919 in Inowrocław. He completed primary and lower secondary school in that city. From 1934 to 1937, he attended Military School No. 1 in Konin. Until the beginning of September 1939, he served in the 8th Training Company of the 67th Infantry Regiment in Brodnica.
In mid-September 1939, he was assigned to Rzeszów as an instructor in the 167th Reserve Infantry Regiment. From there, he evacuated to Hungary. Until 4 April 1940, he stayed in the Hungarian internment camp in Érsekújvár, from where he escaped to France.
There, he was assigned to the Polish army. He underwent anti-tank training and, under French command, took part in the fighting near Verdun. He then reached Great Britain aboard a Polish vessel.
Until 1944, he was stationed in Liverpool, Crawford and Dundee, serving in the 65th Tank Battalion, which was incorporated into the 1st Armoured Regiment of General Stanisław Maczek’s 1st Armoured Division.
He took part in the Normandy landings and the fighting along the Chambois–Falaise line, as well as the liberation of Belgium and the Netherlands, including Breda. He ended his combat trail in Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
He then remained in Hanover until 1947, returning to Poland that year. From 1959, he worked at the Canadian Embassy in Warsaw—first as a driver and later as head of the administration department. He retired in 1984. He is active in numerous veterans’ associations, including the Warsaw circle of former soldiers of General Stanisław Maczek’s 1st Armoured Division.
We join in the birthday wishes—200 years, Major!